Max Verstappen told to reject Ferrari and urged not to become next Michael Schumacher
Max Verstappen will be aiming to secure his third Drivers' Championship this season.
F1 season preview as Max Verstappen looks to defend world title
Max Verstappen has been urged to turn down Ferrari rather than follow in Michael Schumacher’s footsteps. Ex-British F1 star Johnny Herbert said the Red Bull star didn't need to match Schumacher’s success to be considered an F1 great.
Verstappen is hoping to secure a third title in as many years as he closes in on some of the sport’s biggest icons. Yet it has been suggested the Dutchman will quit Red Bull to join Ferrari in a few years in order to become the first title-winning Scuderia driver since 2007.
But, Herbert feels Verstappen could still be written into the sport’s history books even if he remains at Red Bull. He told OLBG: “Verstappen doesn’t have to move and win with another team to be considered a great. Michael Schumacher did with Benetton and [Ferrari].
"But whatever car you are in, the elite like Verstappen or Hamilton will be able to perform in any car they are given. If he moved to another team the car has still got to give him the chance of him winning a race and a title. We know Lewis Hamilton can be equal to Max Verstappen if they are in the same equipment.
“It is not a fair thing to say that Verstappen can only be considered one of the great [sic] unless he is in another car.” It comes after British Le Mans driver Richard Bradley claimed the two-time champion would have to achieve success at another team to be considered among the sport’s elite.
He suggested Verstappen could consider a move to Ferrari to match Schumacher’s success in the early noughties. Bradley told On Track GP: "I think that Max is going to end up at Ferrari in a couple of years. It wouldn’t surprise me, I think especially if he keeps on winning titles and he starts to get complacent, and people start saying ‘Oh, is he the greatest of all time?’
“Max is the sort of guy that goes ‘Okay, well I’ll do what Schumacher did: I’ll take Ferrari from not being in the position to win, to make them World Champions’.”
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Verstappen has repeatedly suggested his current Red Bull deal could be his last in the sport. The 25-year-old first revealed he could be tempted to walk away in 2028 at the end of last season.
He has since doubled down on his stance, admitting he may lose the motivation to race in another five years. He explained: “It's travelling a lot, not only the races but in between you're travelling to the factory, you have marketing commitments and I'm really a person who loves to be at home.
"I like to be competitive, and I like to win but if you can't fully motivate yourself to get to every race, then that's the point you have to question yourself, 'do you really want to continue?'”