Ferrari was once again asked to give Max Verstappen a “blank cheque”, the “three tenths” he brings to the track are priceless.
Although Verstappen lost his first race of this season in Australia, with Carlos Sainz taking the chequered flag for Ferrari, it is the Dutchman’s RB20 that gives him a chance of victory with a gentle braking that knocks him out of the race.
That ended his second streak of 10 straight wins, and his winning percentage of nine dated back to last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
But as the Dutchman remains the driver to beat, whether in qualifying or at the Grands Prix, Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel has suggested Ferrari give Verstappen and his team a blank cheque to sign.
“What [Fred] Vasseur has to do to be disruptive and be better known and bigger than the pope is to send a blank cheque to [Verstappen’s manager] Raymond Vermeulen,” Coronel said.
“Just empty. ” You fill it up and drive for me. “
Fellow Viaplay analyst Kees van de Grint agrees and says Verstappen will bring to the table the three tenths Ferrari wants to beat Red Bull.
“It’s never too expensive,” he says. The three-tenths, it costs a lot of money to put the three-tenths in the car. No matter which driver you choose, you have this disadvantage.
“They [Red Bull] still have that advantage. They put in two or three tenths. “
“You get those three tenths when you have a Max,” Coronel added.
The comments from Coronel and van de Grint come at a time when Ferrari could one day lose the chance to sign Verstappen with the 26-year-old linked to Mercedes.
Amid the turmoil at Red Bull, it has been reported that Verstappen could be looking for new pastures with Mercedes blatantly courting him.
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The 2024 Max Verstappen F1 Drivers’ Championship standings
However, former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde has said that Verstappen at Ferrari will not take place. After all, they’ve already signed Lewis Hamilton.
Earlier this year, Ferrari announced it had signed Hamilton for the 2025 season, with the seven-time world champion signing Charles Leclerc to a multi-year contract.
Van der Garde does not believe Hamilton and Verstappen would form a smart line-up and has named Mercedes as the three-time world champion’s most productive option if he leaves Red Bull.
“It’s not going to go,” he told the DRS: The Race Show podcast. You’ve been given Leclerc and Hamilton, so it’s impossible. “
“Verstappen and Hamilton at Ferrari would be horrible, but Wolff will do everything he can to get Verstappen. Max has a clever wisdom in the team.
As for the considerations that Ferrari made the decision to ditch Australian GP winner Sainz in favor of Hamilton, van der Garde weighed in on the matter.
“I don’t think Hamilton is burning everything. He’s been beaten 3 times [without winning the title in 21, 22 and 23] and, of course, he looks at Ferrari with two or even three eyes,” he said. He played in Melbourne and now he’s out. This guy thinks, what am I doing here, man?
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