Lewis Hamilton believes that Max Verstappen is a serious contender to replace him at Mercedes next season.
A vacancy has opened up at the Silver Arrows following Hamilton’s shock decision to join Ferrari.
The apparent division at Red Bull – following the very public spat between team principal Christian Horner and Verstappen’s father, Jos – has led to speculation that the Dutch driver, despite being under contract until 2028, could quit the team which has carried him to the past three world championships.
“My move has shown that anything is possible,” said Hamilton ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. “I know and I am sure Max is on the list.”
Hamilton and Verstappen’s relationship soured in 2021 as they fought for the world title – with Verstappen taking the championship following a deeply contentious end to the season decider in Abu Dhabi. Tensions were also high between Mercedes and Red Bull.
But Hamilton continued: “I wouldn’t say I am surprised that he is being considered. He is a great driver.
“And Max in that moment did what he had to do. It was nothing on him. It was the sport that let us down and that wasn’t his fault. If I was in his position I would have done the same thing, so there are no issues there.
“If you run a team you want the best driver and a driver that brings in the eyeballs and brings in the sponsorship and he is one of those. I understand it but it wouldn’t make sense for him, but it will be interesting to see.
“George (Russell) is an integral part of this team and he will be here for the long haul. He is doing a great job and he will grow to be a leader of this team so it will be interesting to see what their relationship looks like but I am sure they will work it out.
“It will definitely be a strong line-up.”
Earlier, Russell said he would welcome the challenge of going up against Verstappen, who has won 18 of the last 19 races and is the overwhelming favourite to claim another victory in Jeddah on Saturday night.
“This is my third season alongside Lewis, the greatest of all time and I feel like I have done a pretty good job alongside him,” said Russell.
“So, whoever were to line up alongside me, I welcome the challenge.
“You want to go against the best. I believe I can beat anybody on the grid. Having Lewis as my benchmark has been a good benchmark for sure.
“Any team wants to have the best driver line-up possible and right now Max is the best driver on the grid.
“If any team had a chance to sign Max they would 100 per cent be taking it but the question is on his side and Red Bull’s side and we don’t know what is truly going on behind closed doors and it is none of our business. But it would be exciting.”
Verstappen follows up sprint race win by taking pole at Miami Grand Prix
Max Verstappen continued to be critical of his own performance despite taking pole position for the Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who won the sprint earlier on Saturday and had on Friday claimed pole in qualifying for that event, recorded a best time of 1:27.241 round the track in the final qualification session for Sunday's race.
The reigning Formula One world champion will share the front row with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who like in the sprint, came second.
Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz pipped Red Bull's Sergio Perez to third, while Lando Norris rounded out the top five.
Verstappen, though, was not particularly thrilled with his drive, continuing the trend after both qualifying on Friday and the sprint race.
He said: "We definitely improved the car a bit but I don’t know what it is but every single year we come here I find it extremely difficult to be very consistent with the car and tyre feeling over one lap. It’s super hard to make sure that Sector One feels good and Sector Three at the end of the lap to make that happen together is incredibly tough.
"Again today it was really about finding that balance, I think we did ok, it wasn't the most enjoyable lap out of my career especially with how slippery it is and you aren't very confident on the lap but we are on pole."
Leclerc said: "I felt so much on the limit. It was very close until Q3, where we started to push for the last one or two tenths. We started to lose the tyres in sector two and three, overheating them quite a bit. That's where we lost a little bit of time.
"However, the race is long and this morning we showed a good pace, so I hope tomorrow we can put Max under a bit more pressure."
Lewis Hamilton recovered from a 20-second penalty in the sprint race to qualify in seventh, one place behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Verstappen clinches sprint victory at Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton hit with penalty
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen claimed victory in the sprint race ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen clinched pole for the sprint in Friday's qualifying session, and capitalised on that effort to finish ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on Saturday.
The Dutchman had to see off an early push from Leclerc, but ultimately had too much.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate, recovered from an early mistake to finish third.
Daniel Ricciardo took fourth, having fended off the challenge of both Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri.
It was a bad drive for Lewis Hamilton, who was penalised for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him from eighth down to 16th.
Red Bull designer Newey 'flattered' by Hamilton interest in Ferrari link-up
Adrian Newey acknowledged Lewis Hamilton's interest in working with him at Ferrari came as a flattering compliment for the outgoing Red Bull designer.
Hamilton will complete his switch to Ferrari next season as the Italian team managed to convince the seven-time world champion to leave Mercedes.
Newey will also be on the move early next year and is free to join a rival team ahead of the 2026 season.
Hamilton said working with Newey would be a "privilege", with one of the best designers in Formula One history at the top of his list of people to work with.
Those comments did not go unnoticed by Newey, who spoke to Sky Sports about a potential link-up with Hamilton ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
"F1 is all-consuming. I've been at it for a long time now," Newey said of his decision to leave Red Bull after joining the team in 2006.
"2021 was a really busy year because of the tight battle with Mercedes, through the championship and at the same time, putting all the research into the RB18 [the 2022 car].
"There comes a point where I just felt, as Forrest Gump said, 'I'm feeling a little bit tired'.
"It's very kind of Lewis to say that. I'm very flattered. At the moment, it's just take a bit of a break and see what happens next."
Newey's decision to part ways with Red Bull was announced on Wednesday, though the acclaimed designer says it has been on his mind for a while.
"A little while now. I guess over the winter a little bit," Newey said when asked about his intentions to depart.
"Then as events have unfolded this year, I thought, I'm in very lucky position where I don't need to work to live. I work because I enjoy it.
"I just felt now is a good time to step back a bit, take a break and take stock of life.
"Then maybe at some point I will stand in the shower and say 'right, this is going to be the next adventure'.
"But right now, there is no plan."
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