Villeneuve: Verstappen won’t feel comfortable in another team

Jacques Villeneuve believes that if Max Verstappen moves to another team in the future, it will not be easy to recreate the atmosphere he knew from his years of collaboration with Red Bull, which was also one of the important factors that contributed to his success.

Ever since Lewis Hamilton’s contract with Ferrari was announced, there have been constant rumours that they are trying to lure the three-time world champion to Mercedes or Aston Martin. Toto Wolff has made no secret of his interest in Max, and although the Dutchman assures that he still intends to honour his contractual obligations to Red Bull, the rumours continue.

But when and if he decides to switch teams, he will face something of a culture shock, Villeneuve says.

“It all depends on what options are available to Verstappen,” the 1997 world champion told the blog Instantcasino.com. – No vacancies are expected at McLaren. Can we expect Mercedes to treat him better? And whose place could he take: George Russell or Kimi Antonelli?

Both Russell and Antonelli are Mercedes graduates and the team has invested heavily in them. However, Mercedes is likely to sign Verstappen just to steal their star driver from their rivals, Red Bull.

“There is no team that suits Max at the moment, but we will see what happens in the long term. He has been under the care of Red Bull his entire career and it will not be easy to replicate such a comfortable atmosphere in another team.”