If someone tells you Max Verstappen could have been driving at Mercedes, what would be your first reaction? Shocking, right? Looking at the events of the last 2 years, it feels impossible that the Brackley team could sign Verstappen. Especially with Lewis Hamilton being their top man and his intense rivalry with Max in 2021, it ain’t possible for the duo to stay under one roof. But back in 2019, this was a possibility. In fact, the Mercedes F1 legend was willing to team up with the Dutchman, much to the latter’s denial.

In an exclusive interview with Motorsport Magazine in 2019, Verstappen discussed the prospect of him being at Mercedes. When the interviewer cited Hamilton’s views, he hesitantly fizzled off the topic, by saying that he was looking at all options on the grid.

The interviewer quoted what Lewis had said when he was sitting with Max for a chat in Austria that year. Hamilton stated on Verstappen being his Mercedes teammate, “I think the team’s pretty happy with Valtteri and me. But I do know Max is definitely interested in opportunities… If there is a chance, then great.” 

He even gave a six-worded invite to the Red Bull driver, “Sure, I don’t mind driving with you. I’ll drive against whoever.” But, Max wasn’t buying it. In this Motorsport magazine interview, Verstappen reflected on this prospect and pointed out the Briton’s hesitancy in his views.

Max said, “Yes, well he had to say that. I’d have said that [in his situation]. He’s not going to say, ‘Oh, I’d hate it.’ But I don’t think about these things.” The Dutchman also cited what his outlook was about being at the Silver Arrows, “A move to Mercedes? I am just looking at what the options are.”

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All this chatter was due to Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull ending in 2020. Even Red Bull’s contract with F1 as a team had no surety of a future. So, Max could have been on the open market, if RBR’s future was dicey. But, how different 2021 would have been, if Mercedes actually got Verstappen on board alongside Hamilton? Or would it be the same, with Max just being in Silver colors?

The What-If Scenario of a Max Verstappen-Lewis Hamilton team-up at Mercedes

It is a terrifying prospect for the F1 field if Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen would have been in a dominant Mercedes car. Two of the best drivers on the grid in the best car on the grid. Does anybody else get a chance to win in Formula 1? Probably, yes.

Even if Verstappen was at the Silver Arrows in 2021 alongside Hamilton, there is no guarantee that there would be no clashes. Looking at the tactics used in their clashes in the 2021 season and in Brazil in 2022, it just feels inevitable that the two talented drivers collide while competing.

Max would have been still aiming for his maiden title while Lewis was for his 8th. So, it doesn’t matter if Max would have been Lewis’s teammate. As we have seen a teammate rivalry as a prequel at Brackley with Hamilton and Rosberg. Moreover so, this could have ended up even as a scenario of Alonso and Hamilton at McLaren in 2007.

Verstappen was the dynamic rookie like Hamilton was back in ’07. Meanwhile, Lewis ironically was the reigning champion like Fernando. So, clashes, tensions, and intensity could have been even more perhaps than the Red Bull v Mercedes dynamic that originally took place.

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Despite Max Verstappen now ultimately committed to Red Bull, the F1 driver market is a funny one. If the Milton Keynes outfit loses its competitive edge, Max is not going to stick around for long and open up the market. Although, the chances of seeing the Dutchman with Mercedes have probably vanished with the controversial baggage. Still, you never know what happens!