Max Verstappen implored to join Ferrari by former F1 star: ‘Don’t leave it too late’

Verstappen has not raced in F1 outside the Red Bull ecosystem and has committed to the team for 2026

Eddie Irvine has implored Max Verstappen to join Ferrari, insisting the Dutchman should not “leave it too late like Lewis Hamilton did.”

Irish F1 legend Irvine raced for Ferrari over four seasons from 1996-1999, winning four races overall with a best-championship finish of second in 1999 behind Jacques Villeneuve.

All of Irvine’s years at the Scuderia were spent alongside Michael Schumacher, who joined as a two-time champion and departed in 2006 as a seven-time champion.

Verstappen, meanwhile, has won four world championships at Red Bull and has committed his future to the team for 2026, despite links with Mercedes. Yet Irvine, comparing Verstappen’s star quality to that of Schumacher, believes the Dutch driver should look to move to Ferrari in the prime of his career.

“Back in my day, you had Michael [Schumacher] come, he was seen as by far the fastest driver,” Irvine told Sky Sports F1. “Because of that, Rory Byrne came, Ross [Brawn] came, and that whole team was built around the fact that Michael was another world.

“A bit like Verstappen is now, where if Verstappen went somewhere, he could take a lot of people. Without the whole system together, everyone’s, you know, at the same level. It’s tough, Formula 1’s tough.

“Michael gave up a lot, like Michael probably gave up two, three, maybe even more world championships to leave Benetton to go [to Ferrari]. Because the first few years, people have no idea how bad it was at Ferrari.

“Michael, he knew there was no point for him. He was so much better than everyone else. He just decided, ‘I’m going to go there. I’m going to see what I can do,’ which was amazing.

Max Verstappen has committed to Red Bull for 2026 (Getty Images)

Eddie Irvine says he would 'love' to see Verstappen join Ferrari (Getty Images)

“And he got there. But people forget, it took four years. He was always in the vicinity, but it was just that you could see he was driving the wheels off the thing to try and be there. So, it was very easy for it not to happen.

“I would love Verstappen to come to Ferrari. I think the two of them together would be sensational. I hope he doesn’t leave it too late like Lewis did.”

Irvine added that he believes Hamilton, at the age of 40, has arrived at Ferrari “a bit too old” after a difficult start to life at the Scuderia, in which he has failed to finish on the podium in his first 16 grands prix.

Verstappen has never raced outside the Red Bull ecosystem, having made his debut in 2015 for sister team Toro Rosso, but will be keeping a close eye on the development of the team’s new power train next year, in partnership with Ford. He has a £50m-a-year contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028.