Hamilton stokes the fire: 'Verstappen is definitely on Mercedes' list'

A week after the Bahrain Grand Prix, Formula 1 drivers have descended on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which hosts the Saudi Arabia GP this weekend. In the sporting section, there seems to be little interest: the questions are largely about Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner and the rumours that Max Verstappen could just leave for Mercedes. Does Lewis Hamilton himself see his old rival as a possible successor?

Hamilton: 'Verstappen is on Mercedes' list'

Hamilton surprised friend and foe alike with the news that he is swapping Mercedes for Ferrari after the 2024 F1 season. For that very reason, he says a possible switch of Verstappen to the German team cannot be ruled out. "I think my moves have shown that anything is possible, and it's going to be really interesting in the next six months," said the 39-year-old Briton.

Hamilton cannot answer whether there is any truth to the rumours about the Dutchman. "I'm sure Max is on the list, but I'm pretty sure he's tied up. I don’t see why he would leave a car that was that good," the Mercedes driver noted.

Newey to Ferrari?

Rumours are also building about Adrian Newey. Could Hamilton take the master designer away from Red Bull for a new adventure at Ferrari? "Adrian gets all the praise for everybody's work. I know he's a huge part of it, of course, but I know there's so many engineers in the background that are a huge part of developing the team and the car that they have, but not for one person. So it's not my decision. I don't know," he said.

Hamilton: 'Verstappen and Russell would be great together'

Returning to the possibility of Verstappen one day continuing his F1 career at Mercedes, Hamilton imagines how the Dutchman would function in the seat next to George Russell. "George is an integral part of this team. He’ll be here for the long term and he's doing such a great job. He will grow into the leader of the team. It will definitely be a strong line up," he said.

Hamilton was then asked if he was surprised to see Verstappen's name being associated with the team, given the bitter 2021 battle. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised, no, because he's a great driver. He did what he had to do [in 2021]. That's not him, it's the sport. That wasn't his fault. I mean, in his position, I would have done the same thing. There’s no issues there. If you run a team, you want to have the best driver in, you want to have a team that's got a driver that brings in eyeballs and sponsorship, he's one of those."