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max verstappen grand prix abu dhabi 2023 working with Hamilton

Would Verstappen want to be in a team with Hamilton? The champion responds!

23 November 2023 at 11:32
Last update 23 November 2023 at 11:37
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

The season is almost over for Max Verstappen: just one more Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi - where the Dutchman has been the best each time in recent years - and the Red Bull Racing driver can go on a well-earned holiday. When the Dutchman returns to the Austrian team's factory after the turn of the year, he will again meet Sergio Perez as his teammate. That might have been different, English media revealed: Lewis Hamilton had sounded out to Red Bull about whether there might be a spot next to Max Verstappen.

Christian Horner, Red Bull's team boss, had explained that representatives of Hamilton - before the latter signed a new contract with Mercedes - had first sounded out the Austrian team to see if there was anything to talk about. However, Horner did not envisage Verstappen and Hamilton working together because "the dynamics would not be right".

Verstappen would not mind

During the press conference ahead of the weekend in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen was also asked about a possible collaboration with Hamilton at Red Bull. Wouldn't he like to know what it would be like against the Briton in the same team? "What would it add to know? I don't know, but it's not happening. There's no point in making up stories if it's not happening. I wouldn't mind, it doesn't matter to anyone. I don’t want to put it like now, particularly on Lewis. There are so many great drivers as well, so sometimes it just doesn't work out like that." Verstappen said.

Perez's contract expires after 2024, and Lewis Hamilton is committed to Mercedes until 2025.