Montoya sets Max Verstappen to Ferrari timeline after Lewis Hamilton mistake uncovered

Seven-time grand prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya does believe that Max Verstappen is a future Ferrari driver. But, not before a stop-off at Mercedes first.

Montoya predicts that it will be at least “five years” before Verstappen races for Ferrari, this claim coming after former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine urged Verstappen to join Ferrari before he is too old, which he believes is the mistake made by Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen: A future Ferrari driver?

Verstappen is under Red Bull contract until the end of 2028, though that has not stopped the rumour mill hinting at an early exit over recent years, with his grip on the Drivers’ Championship almost certain to expire in 2025.

While Mercedes has been the most talked about destination outside of Red Bull, Max’s father Jos also threw Ferrari into the hat.

“It’s not that we only talk about it [Mercedes] a lot this year. This year, nevertheless, a bit more than the years before,” Jos recently told Viaplay.

“But we also talk about Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. That makes sense.”

Montoya does believe racing for Ferrari is in the F1 future of Verstappen.

“I think Max will drive the red car, but probably five or six years down the line,” Montoya told a gambling platform.

“I think at some stage he’ll have a chance, but not yet. I think he’ll probably move.

“I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t move. Unless of course Red Bull does an amazing job.

“I think Max has matured and shown more maturity this year and we see a calmer Max. You don’t hear the outbursts as much. I don’t know if that’s because he’s preparing psychologically to be somewhere else. Who knows?”

In fact, Montoya expects Max to tick off that entire trio of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull mentioned by his father.

“The obvious next move that you’ll see at some point will be to Mercedes,” Montoya predicts. “But then Ferrari. That’s what I think.”

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How Ferrari’s driver line-up will evolve over the coming years remains uncertain. Lewis Hamilton is yet to impress after his blockbuster move from Mercedes.

The sweeping changes coming to the regulations for 2026 offer the potential for redemption, but if Hamilton still struggles to shine in Ferrari red from that point on, the questions being asked about his future will only grow louder.

In the opinion of Eddie Irvine – four times a grand prix winner with Ferrari – Hamilton “came a bit too old”. He would “love” Verstappen to join Ferrari without repeating that perceived Hamilton mistake.

“Back in my day, you had Michael [Schumacher] come, he was seen as by far the fastest driver,” Irvine continued, speaking with Sky F1. “Because of that, Rory Byrne came, Ross [Brawn] came, and that whole team was built around the fact that Michael was another world.

“A bit like Verstappen is now, where if Verstappen went somewhere, he could take a lot of people. Without the whole system together, everyone’s, you know, at the same level. It’s tough, Formula 1’s tough.

“Michael gave up a lot, like Michael probably gave up two, three, maybe even more world championships to leave Benetton to go [to Ferrari]. Because the first few years, people have no idea how bad it was at Ferrari. Michael, he knew there was no point for him. He was so much better than everyone else. He just decided, ‘I’m going to go there. I’m going to see what I can do,’ which was amazing.

“And he got there. But people forget, it took four years. He was always in the vicinity, but it was just, you could see he was driving the wheels off the thing to try and be there. So it was very easy for it not to happen.

“I would love Verstappen to come to Ferrari. I think the two of them together would be sensational. I hope he doesn’t leave it too late like Lewis did.”

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