Max Verstappen: Lewis Hamilton could face 'awkward, weird' last season at Mercedes before Ferrari switch

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has predicted Lewis Hamilton’s last season with Mercedes could be a “bit awkward” and a “bit weird” ahead of his move to Ferrari.

It was announced earlier this month that seven-time world champion Hamilton will be joining Ferrari next season.

Hamilton has said he is “mega-motivated” for his last season with Mercedes as he looks to go out on a high.

But current Formula One champion Verstappen thinks the fact Hamilton’s departure is out in the open could make things a "bit awkward" at Mercedes.

“I think at the end of the day, seeing him go to Ferrari is not a surprise. If that’s your goal as a kid or your dream, then you go right,” said Verstappen at the launch of Red Bull’s RB20 car.

“The only thing for me was I think that it was a little bit leaked of course and then they had to announce it. Because to announce something that big that early in the season – for sure for the rest of the year [it] is a bit awkward even though you have had a lot of success together as a team, you can’t be included in everything anymore.

“But for him going to Ferrari? It’s not shocking."

Verstappen also reflected on how Hamilton's exit will impact what Mercedes boss Toto Wolff can share with his leading driver as the season progresses.

He added: “For sure he [Hamilton] has a great relationship with everyone [at Mercedes] and Toto. But Toto knows and Toto will tell him at some point ‘we’ve had a lot of success, but you can’t be part of meetings anymore’.

“That’s normal in F1 but it’s probably a bit weird. But you are professional enough to deal with that.

“At the end of the day, I think you are professional enough to just deal with what you have. It’s not like they are suddenly enemies or whatever, he has achieved so many great things at that whole team, they’re still behind him, but after a point you know that you can’t share certain stuff.

“But once he’s sitting in the car, they will still go flat out for him to try and win races as well.”

Three-time world champion Verstappen has a deal with Red Bull until 2028.

He will be the strong favourite to win the title again when the new season gets under way in Bahrain on March 2.

Verstappen was also asked whether he could be interested in joining Ferrari one day but he was adamant he is content to stay at Red Bull.

“I don’t want to sound, like, disrespectful or whatever because I have a lot of respect for the brand Ferrari, but I’m happy where I’m at,” he said.

“I’m comfortable in the environment I’m in so it’s not something I’m looking to change or whatever but again, in my life, you always want to experience so never say never but, for me now, it’s not even in my head.”

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