Max Verstappen has Lewis Hamilton desire that F1 legend is “not sure Red Bull would want”

Verstappen and Hamilton will be F1 rivals until the day one of them leaves the sport, thanks to their thrilling 2021 title fight which ended in controversial fashion

Jacques Villeneuve believes Max Verstappen would jump at the chance to be team-mates with Lewis Hamilton.

But the Canadian is certain that his Red Bull team would never want to bring the Brit on board alongside his Formula 1 rival. Villeneuve made the assertion as he mulled over the future of the second seat at Red Bull.

It is currently occupied by Sergio Perez, but perhaps not for much longer. He has another year on his contract after this and there is plenty of speculation that it will be his last, given the huge performance gap between them.

Even the Mexican has now admitted he could leave. He said: “It’s important in the next races to be in an environment where I feel I can contribute. And if that place in 2024 isn’t here, then we have to look for alternatives.”

Should Perez quit or Red Bull decide to replace him, there is one F1 star who would become the immediate favourite to replace him. Lando Norris has been on the team’s radar before but, so far, has remained loyal to McLaren.

The Brit has a contract until the end of 2025 and, if McLaren cannot give him a car in which he can challenge for the title by that point, he may choose to move on. Red Bull would surely revive their interest in one of the F1 grid’s hottest young talents.

But Villeneuve believes Verstappen might prefer another Brit. Hamilton has committed his future to Mercedes for the next two seasons, by which point he will be almost 41. The chances of the seven-time world champion ever defecting to Red Bull are very slim at best.

Villeneuve thinks Verstappen would want to go up against Hamilton in equal machinery so he can prove once and for all that he is the superior driver. The 1997 world champion did admit, though, that his team would likely be much less keen on what would no doubt be a very volatile relationship between its drivers.

“I think Max would probably want Lewis. Of course, so he can show the world that he can beat Lewis,” he said. “That would be his ultimate goal. He would probably want that, but I’m not sure Red Bull would want that.”

He went on to speculate that Perez could win another contract, asserting that Red Bull will be happy with the fact that Verstappen has been virtually unchallenged. Villeneuve said: “At the moment Max can win, they are comfortably ahead. They are getting the image they want. Why should they bother and sign a young guy who wants to show that he is the new world champion and cause trouble?”