Newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has made an early prediction on what will happen to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
Earlier in the year, the F1 world was shaken to its core after it was confirmed that seven-time world champion Hamilton would leave Mercedes for Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.
At the time, Hamilton said: "I have had an amazing 11 years with this team and I'm so proud of what we have achieved together.
"Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It's a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. But the time is right now for me to take this step and I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge."
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Ahead of the much-anticipated move, Verstappen was asked whether Hamilton could challenge as a Ferrari driver.
As reported by The Express, Verstappen told PA Sport: "It has been tough for him (Hamilton) to get motivated fully this year because he knows he is leaving the team.
"I felt like as soon as he had that competitive car, and there was a chance of winning, you could see that he really stepped up. Then there were some races where the car was difficult and he was like 'whatever'."
The Red Bull superstar added: "I don't think he will ever lose it. He has achieved so much. It is a new challenge for him next year. He will be very, very motivated to show he is a seven-time world champion. But it will depend on the material he has got."
After being denied the chance to drive the Ferrari car during post-season testing in Abu Dhabi next month, Hamilton said: "Look, I know Fred wanted it to happen. For me, I was in two minds. Driving the red car for the first time in Abu Dhabi does not excite me.
"In a perfect world, you get to drive it, not be seen, and do the first rollout next year. When I did raise it, obviously with Toto [Wolff], they had all these plans that I've got to go and see some of the sponsors and say their farewells."
The 39-year-old continued: "So I don't think it was ever going to actually be allowed, even if I had asked to have done it, because I'm contracted to the team until December 31st and that's totally fine. But it doesn't bother me again because I wasn't going to do the test.
"It's not what I wanted to do. I told Fred that's not what I wanted to do. Am I missing out on something? For sure. It definitely delays the process and makes the start of the year harder, but we'll do our best to recover."
Topics: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Ferrari, Red Bull Racing
Marcus Chan