VERSTAPPEN AND FERRARI ???
Max Verstappen in Homestead Florida.
Max Verstappen has taken F1 by storm this year, despite being only 17 years of age. The
Belgo-Dutch driver scored his second points of the season in Austria, to move ahead of
his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr in the World Championship, but Verstappen could have scored on several other occasions if he had not had mechanical trouble and, of course, his celebrated collision with Romain Grosjean at Monaco. Without the failures he could conceivably be eighth in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of Daniil Kvyat.
There are more than a few teams that have spotted this and there is no question that Max is a man in demand, although his Red Bull contract would stand in
the way of progress, unless someone wants to buy it. Mercedes was showing interest in Max before the Red Bull deal came along, but it was not in a position to offer him a racing deal for 2015 and so Max decided to go with Red Bull, in order to get into an F1 car.
The word is that one team that has been showing interest is Ferrari, which has the financial muscle to buy Verstappen's contract. It is very clear that Kimi Raikkonen is not doing a particularly good job, although it is better than his effort's last season. To date he has collected 72 points to teammate Sebastian Vettel's 120. He could lose fifth place to Valtteri Bottas if his fellow countryman has a few more good results, which is likely given that the Williams likes the faster circuits.
Bottas is obviously on Ferrari's list as a potential team-mate for Vettel, but the list is also believed to include Nico Hulkenberg and perhaps even Romain Grosjean. Ferrari also has its young driver development programme but the loss of Jules Bianchi means that the most senior member of the programme is now Raffaele Marciello, who is currently the test driver for Sauber and racing in GP2.
The key question is whether or not Ferrari believes that Verstappen is sufficiently special to be
grabbed at the first available opportunity. Verstappen is believed to have a three-year contract with
Red Bull that will cover 2015-2016-2017, but in the past Red Bull has generally dumped its young
drivers after two seasons, so the deal could be shorter.
Max Verstappen in Homestead Florida.
Max Verstappen has taken F1 by storm this year, despite being only 17 years of age. The
Belgo-Dutch driver scored his second points of the season in Austria, to move ahead of
his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr in the World Championship, but Verstappen could have scored on several other occasions if he had not had mechanical trouble and, of course, his celebrated collision with Romain Grosjean at Monaco. Without the failures he could conceivably be eighth in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of Daniil Kvyat.
There are more than a few teams that have spotted this and there is no question that Max is a man in demand, although his Red Bull contract would stand in
the way of progress, unless someone wants to buy it. Mercedes was showing interest in Max before the Red Bull deal came along, but it was not in a position to offer him a racing deal for 2015 and so Max decided to go with Red Bull, in order to get into an F1 car.
The word is that one team that has been showing interest is Ferrari, which has the financial muscle to buy Verstappen's contract. It is very clear that Kimi Raikkonen is not doing a particularly good job, although it is better than his effort's last season. To date he has collected 72 points to teammate Sebastian Vettel's 120. He could lose fifth place to Valtteri Bottas if his fellow countryman has a few more good results, which is likely given that the Williams likes the faster circuits.
Bottas is obviously on Ferrari's list as a potential team-mate for Vettel, but the list is also believed to include Nico Hulkenberg and perhaps even Romain Grosjean. Ferrari also has its young driver development programme but the loss of Jules Bianchi means that the most senior member of the programme is now Raffaele Marciello, who is currently the test driver for Sauber and racing in GP2.
The key question is whether or not Ferrari believes that Verstappen is sufficiently special to be
grabbed at the first available opportunity. Verstappen is believed to have a three-year contract with
Red Bull that will cover 2015-2016-2017, but in the past Red Bull has generally dumped its young
drivers after two seasons, so the deal could be shorter.
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