Ferrari should make an extraordinary financial effort to sign Max Verstappen when a seat becomes available, according to Tom Coronel, who believes the four-time Formula 1 world champion would deliver both an immediate performance gain and a major increase in the Italian company’s market value.
Coronel nevertheless does not expect, or even necessarily want, his fellow Dutchman to leave Red Bull immediately. He considers Verstappen inseparable from the team with which he won his four titles and believes a move to Maranello would make most sense towards the closing stages of the driver’s Formula 1 career.
Ferrari urged to sign Max Verstappen when an opportunity emerges
Max Verstappen has again occupied a central position in the Formula 1 driver market during 2026 after raising questions about his long-term future at Red Bull. The 28-year-old is now widely expected to remain with the team for at least another season, unless he acts on his repeated suggestions that he could retire from the championship.
His uncertainty has been influenced by two factors. Verstappen has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the increased role of electrical energy under the 2026 power-unit regulations, while Red Bull’s difficulties with the RB22 have also encouraged discussion about a possible departure. The Dutch driver has consequently been linked with Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, while his potential interest in Ferrari and other leading teams has remained a major driver-market storyline.
Verstappen’s Red Bull contract runs until the end of 2028, but he reportedly has a release mechanism available between August and October. For that clause to become active, he needed to enter the 2026 summer break outside the top two in the Drivers’ Championship. After 11 of the season’s 23 rounds, he occupied sixth place and therefore met that performance condition.
Despite the contractual opportunity, none of the rival front-running teams currently has an available seat for Verstappen in 2027. That limitation makes the timing of any transfer as important as the identity of his preferred destination, particularly with several long-term agreements already shaping the Formula 1 driver contract landscape.
Tom Coronel claims Verstappen could raise Ferrari’s value by 30%
Speaking to RacingNews365, Tom Coronel explained that he found it difficult to imagine Verstappen representing another team because of how closely the driver’s identity had become connected with Red Bull. The only alternative he could realistically picture was a Ferrari move near the end of Verstappen’s career.
Coronel argued that the Maranello team should be prepared to give the four-time champion an effectively unrestricted financial offer when the appropriate moment arrives. In his assessment, signing Verstappen would increase Ferrari’s stock-market value by 30% while also bringing a sporting advantage of between one-and-a-half and two-tenths of a second per lap.
He attributed that potential performance benefit not only to Verstappen’s outright speed but also to the intensity and determination with which the Dutchman approaches racing. However, Coronel maintained that Ferrari should wait rather than attempt to force an immediate transfer. His preference would be for Verstappen to remain with Red Bull before eventually concluding his career at Maranello, a destination chosen by several prominent Formula 1 drivers during their later years.
Verstappen proposal echoes criticism of Lewis Hamilton signing
The commercial element of Coronel’s argument creates a clear parallel with Ferrari’s recruitment of Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion joined the Scuderia in 2025, generating enormous worldwide attention but enduring a difficult first campaign in red that he personally characterised as a nightmare.
Hamilton had spent his entire Formula 1 career within British-based teams before moving to Maranello. He therefore needed to adjust to a different working culture as well as the handling characteristics of the SF-25 during the final season of the ground-effect regulations. The challenges behind Hamilton’s difficult 2025 Ferrari campaign soon placed the sporting justification for the transfer under scrutiny.
Former Formula 1 driver Derek Daly was among the pundits who suggested that Ferrari had recruited Hamilton primarily for marketing purposes rather than because of his competitive value. Similar arguments focused on the enormous commercial effect of combining the most successful driver in Formula 1 history with its most successful team.
Hamilton’s arrival was reported to have generated an additional £42 million in sponsorship revenue during 2025. Brands were eager to associate themselves with both his global profile and Ferrari’s international reach, reinforcing the view that his signing had delivered a substantial financial return regardless of his results on the circuit. His difficult season also affected his broader commercial standing, with Hamilton facing increased competition in Formula 1 marketability.
Hamilton’s 2026 title challenge changes the sporting argument
The situation has evolved significantly in 2026. Hamilton is now competing for the Drivers’ Championship with Ferrari, offering a sporting response to suggestions that his move was purely a commercial decision. His improved competitiveness demonstrates why the team’s investment cannot be judged only through the difficulties of his debut campaign.
The seven-time world champion’s title pursuit has not been without missed opportunities, but his position at the front has strengthened the competitive justification for Ferrari’s original decision. The points lost during key moments of the campaign have also shown how significant small setbacks have become in Hamilton’s 2026 title challenge.
Coronel’s Verstappen proposal would inevitably generate many of the same questions. A move involving one of Formula 1’s most recognisable drivers would provide Ferrari with enormous commercial exposure, but his argument is that Verstappen would also offer a measurable advantage on the circuit. For now, however, Coronel believes the Dutchman should remain at Red Bull and reserve a potential Ferrari chapter for the final phase of his career.
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