Italian journalist confirms: Max Verstappen and Ferrari had talks, details revealed. Verstappen and Ferrari: behind the scenes of the confirmed contacts.

Roberto Chinchero has confirmed that there have been contacts between Max Verstappen and Ferrari. Moreover, the Italian journalist did not rule out a possible future collaboration between the two.

The allure of Ferrari has captivated many of Formula 1’s greats, from Sebastian Vettel to Kimi Raikkonen, and more recently Lewis Hamilton. Everyone, it seemed, except Max Verstappen. However, Chinchero has revealed that contacts between the Dutch driver and Ferrari did occur, although they did not develop into a tangible partnership.

The recent GT3 victory for Max Verstappen, driving a Ferrari 296, has reignited speculation about a potential collaboration. Yet, until now, Ferrari and Max Verstappen have followed parallel paths: Ferrari striving to regain its top position in F1, while the 1997-born Dutchman has secured four world titles with their rival, Red Bull Racing.

Max Verstappen himself recently stated that if he were ever to don red, it would be because Ferrari had returned to winning, not simply for the prestige of driving for the sport’s most historic team. Nevertheless, as Roberto Chinchero confirmed to Motorsport.com Italy, contacts between the two parties did indeed happen in the past.

The contacts between Ferrari and Max Verstappen

“There was an opportunity, to the best of my knowledge, when he (Verstappen) was a young driver preparing to make his single-seater debut,” the Italian journalist confirmed. “There was an approach to bring him into the Ferrari Driver Academy. The issue is that with a driver like Max, you have to offer something substantial, and at the same time, you already have a driver like Charles Leclerc in the team.”

Roberto Chinchero also addressed the possibility of seeing the Dutchman in red in the future, although he believes that Ferrari currently has more pressing issues to tackle before focusing on potential drivers.

“It’s possible that Max could arrive one day,” he said. “But, as I have repeatedly pointed out, it is true that sometimes team rebuilds have started through drivers. However, I really don’t think that drivers have been the problem for Ferrari in recent years. The problems lie elsewhere,” he concluded.