Lewis Hamilton could have his ultimate F1 dream ended by nemesis as bombshell claim made

Lewis Hamilton may again be looking over his shoulder at Max Verstappen, but not defending a corner, instead his seat.

The two champions contested arguably Formula 1’s greatest ever title bout in the 2021 season when Hamilton was left shell-shocked by a final lap overtake to lose out on a record-breaking eighth world title.

Getty

Getty

That championship was Verstappen’s first, and he’s since added three more, but with his team Red Bull now miles off the pace he’s been linked to a number of other teams.

Talks with Mercedes were confirmed, while Aston Martin were mooted, however, it now turns out that Verstappen could be coming for Hamilton’s Ferrari seat.

In a brief interview with Dutch broadcaster ViaPlay, the Dutchman’s father and adviser was asked about transfer speculation that dominated the first half of the season.

“It is not that we have talked about it a lot just this year,” Jos Verstappen said. “This year, however, a little more than in previous years. 

“So it was true, but there is also a lot of nonsense that goes along with the rumours.”

He then dropped a bombshell, adding: “But we are also talking about Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

“It is logical. Max and I are discussing the possible options, and it is the three big teams, apart from McLaren, that can welcome him.”

Why would Ferrari want Verstappen?

Ferrari currently have Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tied down to unspecified multi-year contracts, although the former’s is heavily rumoured to be through until the end of 2027.

Naturally, it would be assumed that Hamilton is at greater risk should Verstappen want to head to Italy, given that he’s now in his 40s.

Verstappen is currently widely considered to be the best driver in F1 and can virtually pick a seat, something that was shown by Mercedes’ readiness to dispose of their academy-produced elite level driver George Russell to make way for him.

AFP

Yet in the end, the 27-year-old opted to stay with Red Bull into the new campaign, putting an end to speculation at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, shortly after Christian Horner’s sacking as team principal and CEO.

Another mammoth set of regulation changes come into place next year which will almost certainly shake up the pack, and it’s unknown which team will come out on top.

With Verstappen’s Red Bull contract expiring in 2028, he could well assess things again next year, and take aim for Ferrari should the Scuderia come out and master the new rules.

That could well put paid to Hamilton’s hopes of an eighth world title, as Verstappen did previously in 2021, albeit in controversial circumstances.

Who decides where Verstappen goes?

Verstappen’s former F1 driver father Jos accompanies him to most Grand Prix and has a say on his son’s career, launching an attack on Horner last season.

The Dutchman also has his own manager, Raymond Vermeulen, to deal with the finer points of his off track activity, but as Verstappen himself recently said: “Ultimately, I have to choose what I want.”

Getty

Jos confirmed as much, adding: “We always discuss it with Raymond, Max and me, but he makes the final decisions.

“It is of course a close-knit group. We of course also do a lot of things outside of Formula 1, but important decisions are always thoroughly discussed.”