Johnny Herbert: “Verstappen alongside Norris at McLaren? Like Senna and Prost”

There is constant speculation that Max Verstappen could leave his team, Red Bull Racing. This is also giving Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert pause for thought, and speaking to the Vision4Sport website, the 1995 World Championship runner-up shares his views on the Dutchman’s future.

Herbert (161 Grands Prix, 3 wins) says: “Of course, I’ve heard these rumours about McLaren and an alleged swap between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing. But I’m sure that Verstappen’s management is also staying in touch with Mercedes and Ferrari.”

Johnny Herbert

Foto: XPB

“It would be foolish of Max Verstappen’s team not to speak to these big teams, because you have to ensure you’re prepared for all eventualities.”

“But is there really any reason for him to leave? If we look at what Red Bull Racing has achieved this season, it’s been an incredible improvement in a very short space of time.”

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“In Austria, Max was damn close to Mercedes. He could have made it onto the front row had he not crashed in qualifying. And then he showed his pace in the race too, only narrowly missing out on victory against Russell.”

“Red Bull Racing is back in the mix, and of course this is the strongest argument for keeping Verstappen on board.”

“Anyone talking about Verstappen moving to McLaren needs to think this through properly. If Max were to join McLaren, he’d want to take the reins from Lando Norris. That’s exactly what Michael Schumacher did with almost all his team-mates, and that’s what Ayrton Senna did in many respects with Alain Prost. As a top driver, you have to have the ability to get the team on your side.”

“Lando Norris knows full well that Max will stop at nothing. Verstappen and Norris in the same team – that would be a heated affair. It would spark fireworks that McLaren would somehow have to control, not unlike the situation with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.”