F1 legend claims Ferrari 'has made moves' to secure Verstappen
Giancarlo Minardi spoke about the possibility of Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull for Ferrari in the near future.
“I believe Ferrari has made moves in that direction''- Giancarlo Minardi
Speaking to motorsport.it, the former F1 manager said: “I believe Ferrari has made moves in that direction. As for whether he will come, I think his own words—‘I’m going because I want to win’—send quite a negative signal toward Ferrari.''
''In recent months there’s been a lot of talk, even secret negotiations, driver swaps that never went anywhere, so anything is possible. I think Ferrari is trying.''
Minardi then highlighted Toto Wolff’s comments at the end of the Monza GP, when he described Kimi Antonelli’s weekend as underwhelming while praising the impressive victory of the four-time world champion.
''In my opinion, Toto Wolff’s comments at the end of the race about his team, once again praising Verstappen, were rather unfortunate. Every team wants the best driver, and right now, based on what he shows on track—regardless of the car’s performance—that driver is Verstappen.”
Verstappen addresses chances of driving for Ferrari one day
On the eve of the Monza weekend, the Dutchman was asked about the possibility of driving for Ferrari in the future if he decided to leave Red Bull. Verstappen didn’t close the door on a potential move to Maranello, but for him, a key prerequisite would be the chance to win.
"I think Ferrari is a massive brand, and of course all the drivers, they see and they picture themselves of, ‘I would like to drive for Ferrari,’ but I think that's also where the mistake comes, just to drive for Ferrari," he told GPblog.
"If you want to drive for Ferrari, you want to win. So if I would ever want to go there, I don't go there just to drive for Ferrari, I go there because I see the opportunity to win. And if you win with Ferrari, that's even better."
"That's I think where you shouldn't let yourself get guided just because of the emotions and passion of a brand. You need to go there because you feel that is the right place to go."
He finally added: "If that's the right place to go, I don't know. We'll see of course next year, with the new regulations, it can mix up the whole grid again."
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