Max Verstappen has insisted that a Lewis Hamilton-style switch to Ferrari is not even on the cards at the moment, but teased that you can never say never in F1.Hamilton shocked the F1 world earlier this month when he announced he would leave Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season, ending the partnership between the drivers of the most successful team in F1 history.The British driver has won six of the seven world championships with Mercedes since joining from McLaren in 2013 and will become the first man to surpass 100 Grand Prix wins and pole positions next season.Hamilton decided to join Ferrari after two winless seasons with Mercedes, having been winless since the penultimate round of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia – seven days before Verstappen dethroned him in highly controversial circumstances in the Abu Dhabi title decider. .Verstappen, meanwhile, has cemented himself as the dominant force of the current era, winning 44 of the last 66 races over the last three seasons and heading for a third straight championship in 2023 with a record 19 wins.While the allure of Ferrari is irresistible to many drivers, Verstappen has insisted he does not want to switch to the Scuderia – he is “comfortable” in his current situation at Red Bull.PlanetF1.com RecommendsRevealed: Remarkable 36-hour timeline of Lewis Hamilton’s upset behind Ferrari moveLewis Hamilton now finally has the chance to escape the ghosts of Abu Dhabi during 2021-, but refused foryears . excludes the possibility of following Hamilton to Maranello at some point in the future.Verstappen was previously linked with a move to Ferrari in the summer of 2019 as part of a dramatic seat swap with Sebastian Vettel, who won four consecutive world titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, but the deal fell through.Asked if he was considering joining Ferrari, he told media including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher: “I don’t know.”I don’t want to sound disrespectful or anything. I have a lot of respect for the Ferrari brand, but I’m very happy with where I am now.“I feel comfortable in the environment here, so for me there is nothing that I want to change or anything.“I also know in my life that you never say no to things – according to what I have experienced so far.“But not for me now.“It’s not even in my head, but then again, it’s just Formula 1. I want to do more things [outside] Formula 1 as well.Verstappen has often stated his intention to retire young in his third season in the championship in 2023, and this August marks ten years since he was announced as the 2015 F1 Driver of the Year for the Red Bull Scuderia Toro junior team Rosso (now RB). ). . .Speaking to España AS last May, however, Verstappen admitted that if he still had access to a competitive car, it would be difficult to leave F1.Asked if he still plans to be in F1 when he is 40, he said: “Yes, but maybe on a yacht. Watching the competition.“I would say no [in the car]. But never say never. I think I’ll stay on the ship to drink.“I already have many plans that I want to do outside of Formula 1, but we will see. When I have a competitive car, it is very difficult to say goodbye to the sport.Verstappen cited travel commitments and other extracurricular activities forced on drivers as possible factors that could drive him away from the sport, which he believes affects his raw enthusiasm for racing.He explained: “The time you spend apart from the time you spend in the car. You travel a lot, you have many responsibilities throughout the year and you know where you have to be at all times, as a driver I love to race.“It’s what I did when I was little, what I’m passionate about, but you know in F1 everything about it is part of the sport..
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