Reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has wished Lewis Hamilton success ahead of his planned switch to Ferrari in 2025.
The 38-year-old’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of 2024 after which he will leave Brackley, where he won six of his world championships and head to Maranello with the hope of winning a record eighth world championship and Ferrari’s first constructor championship since 2007.
Verstappen could not give a reason as to why Hamilton would make such a switch but supported the move if it makes the British driver happy.
“At the end of the day, if somebody wants to drive for Ferrari, and especially somebody like Lewis, whose achieved so much, if that’s his dream and goal… We don’t know the talks they had at Mercedes or Ferrari, what has been promised, if anything is coming,” Verstappen said during the unveiling of the RB20 car.
“So you can’t give an honest assessment from our side of why you make that decision. But if he is happy with that move then he should go. It will look cool and of course I hope for them that it will be a success. But we don’t know at the moment.”
???? ????????????????????????????????: Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari from next season.#AfrosportTV #F1 #Hamilton #FormulaOne pic.twitter.com/ohQytFLg3p
— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) February 1, 2024
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, also weighed on the move, stating that though it was surprising will be exciting for the sport.
“First of all I think everybody was surprised, even his existing team [Mercedes], about Lewis’ move to Ferrari,” Horner said at the same event.
“He’s obviously seen something there that he believes in that serves him better than staying where he is. I think for F1, a Lewis-Ferrari tie-up is really exciting.”
F1 will be gearing up for pre-season testing in Bahrain next week ahead of the season-opening Grand Prix at the same venue a week later.
