Former Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes neither Lewis Hamilton nor Sebastian Vettel would accept Max Verstappen as a teammate.
Last year, the future of the Dutchman was subject to speculation as Red Bull endured a difficult start under the current car design rules and both Mercedes and Ferrari reportedly made plays for him.
Ultimately, Max would re-commit until 2020 and is now set to lead the Milton Keynes outfit after the departure of Daniel Ricciardo, but Ecclestone doubts a move elsewhere for the 20-year-old is currently possible.
“I don’t think any of the world champions would want to have him in the team,” he said speaking to 2019 world champion Nico Rosberg in a podcast.
“I think he’d have a bigger job getting a seat in a [leading] team than Fernando [Alonso] has. I don’t think Ferrari would welcome him with open arms or Mercedes.”
Though the German argued the opposite case to Ecclestone, the 87-year-old persisted.
“Put it this way, you wouldn’t be delighted if you were in a team – forget the word number one but assume you were the top guy in the team – and someone says ‘the guy who’s going to drive the other car is Verstappen’,” he responded
“That’s a different story. Sebastian wouldn’t want him, Lewis wouldn’t want him.”
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The situation this year around Ricciardo has been a perfect example of why, this time, Ecclestone is spot on.
In an ideal world, the Australian would be a wanted man by every team on the grid but neither Mercedes nor Ferrari reportedly made a serious approach mainly because of likely vetoes by their current lead drivers.
