Max Verstappen is by far the best, says ex-Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo
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Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo (above) has openly declared that he is a big fan of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo would hire Max Verstappen without hesitation if still at the helm of the Italian Formula One team and given a free choice of drivers.
Speaking after the premiere in London of Luca: Seeing Red on Sept 25, a documentary about his life and career, the 78-year-old had no doubt about Red Bull’s four-time world champion.
“Today I have to say, for me, Verstappen is by far the No. 1,” said the Italian. “Even in the last race in Baku, difficult conditions, he never lost control. He was always quick. He never makes mistakes. (Carlos) Sainz and (Charles) Leclerc was a very good (Ferrari) couple. But no question, Verstappen is by far the best in my view. By far.”
Montezemolo did not mention seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Sainz’s replacement alongside Leclerc who is yet to stand on the podium for his new employers – unlike Sainz who was third for Williams in Baku on Sept 21 while Verstappen won. He did not reference current boss Fred Vasseur either.
“If tomorrow morning I will be obliged to go to work in Ferrari, in one week I have clear in my mind who to put in different positions,” added Montezemolo, stressing the importance of teamwork. He left Ferrari in 2014 – 40 years after Enzo Ferrari had first appointed the young but well-connected lawyer as sporting director of his Formula One team.
During his time at Maranello, he presided over a golden period with greats such as Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher, with Ferrari becoming the most successful team of all time.
In the film, by Manish Pandey who produced the award-winning 2010 documentary Senna, Montezemolo records how Brazilian three-time world champion Ayrton Senna visited his home outside Bologna, days before his death at Imola in 1994.
He said Senna told him he wanted to join Ferrari. Had he done so, Montezemolo added, Ferrari would not have signed Schumacher and Formula One history would have been very different.
The screening was attended by former Ferrari team principals Stefano Domenicali, now in charge of Formula One, Mattia Binotto and Andrea Stella – bosses at Sauber/Audi and champions McLaren.
Adrian Newey, Ferrari’s nemesis as a title-winning designer with Williams, McLaren and Verstappen’s Red Bull, was also in the audience with Aston Martin owner and current employer Lawrence Stroll, as well as former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, 94.
“I am happy now for Binotto... he is investing in the future with a good Brazilian young driver (Gabriel Bortoleto), looking ahead,” said Montezemolo.
He also said he still watched every race, usually alone, and had smashed two televisions in anger over the years.
Meanwhile, Hamilton withdrew from a tyre test with Ferrari in Italy to be with his sick dog, he revealed on social media on Sept 26. Posting on Instagram, the Briton said his 12-year-old bulldog Roscoe had been hospitalised with pneumonia and was now in a coma.
“He was sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped,” he said. “They managed to get a heartbeat back, and now he’s in a coma. We don’t know whether he will wake from this.”
Roscoe, who was adopted by Hamilton in 2013, has his own Instagram account with 1.3 million followers. REUTERS, AFP
