Montezemolo criticizes Ferrari, praises Verstappen and overlooks Hamilton. Luca di Montezemolo crowns Max Verstappen as the number one in Formula 1.

Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari from 1991 to 2014, has expressed his opinion on today’s Formula 1 drivers, leaving aside seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is currently racing for the Maranello team.

The number one right now? Without a doubt Verstappen
“Today I must say that, in my view, Verstappen is without question the number one. Even in the last race in Baku, in difficult conditions, he never lost control. He was always fast and never made a mistake,” said the former Ferrari president.

“Sainz and Leclerc were a very good pair. But there is no doubt, Verstappen is by far the best in my opinion. By far,” he repeated. This comment not only praised Max Verstappen’s talent but also referenced a driver pairing that has since changed. Carlos Sainz moved to Williams at the start of this season, while Charles Leclerc has remained at Ferrari alongside Lewis Hamilton.

Not mentioning the seven-time world champion is a way of implying that today Ferrari’s current driver line-up is not working. In fact, there are not many positives to highlight from this year’s performance: the car is not at the required level and, above all, Hamilton has made a number of mistakes, both in the race and in qualifying.

But the criticisms from Luca di Montezemolo did not stop there. He went on to say: “If tomorrow I was forced to work at Ferrari, within a week I would already know exactly who to move into different positions.”

In this case, he was referring to current Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur, who does not convince the 78-year-old. Back in his own era, he appointed Jean Todt as Team Principal, and that became the golden age for Ferrari: the era of Michael Schumacher. Obviously, the two periods are not even remotely comparable.

Finally, Luca di Montezemolo also spoke about Mattia Binotto, former Ferrari team principal and now technical director at Sauber (which will become Audi from next year): “I am happy for Binotto… he is investing in the future with a young Brazilian driver who is looking ahead.”