Moving To Ferrari, Verstappen Values Hamilton Is Rushed And Strange

Red Bull Racer Max Verstappen poses with RB20 which will be his mount to face Formula 1 for the 2024 season. (F1/Red Bull)

JAKARTA - Lewis Hamilton has now moved from Mercedes team to Ferrari for the 2025 season. But the announcement of Hamilton's move is considered too hasty by defending champion Max Verstappen.

"Actually, he moved to Ferrari not too surprising. It's no surprise that they talked about it. I just thought the announcement was a bit rushed," Verstappen said, quoted by AFP, and quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, February 17.

Furthermore, the Red Bull racer even stated that Hamilton would most likely be barred from attending several Mercedes team meetings during the 2024 season, having confirmed his place in the rival team.

For the rest of the season, I think it will be a bit awkward. He (Hamilton) has achieved so much great with them (Mercedes). They still support him, and for sure, he has a good relationship, especially Toto (Wolf, Mercedes team leader), "said Verstappen.

The 26-year-old racer added that such a thing is something natural in Formula 1, because racers and crew will definitely come and go.

"It's normal in F1. Maybe it will feel a bit strange, but we are certainly quite professional to deal with it," said the Dutch racer.

On the other hand, Red Bull has introduced the latest appearance of RB20, which will be Verstappen's mount and his team-mate, Sergio Perez, in Formula 1 for the 2024 season.

"The show looks a little different. I think the team has made progress compared to last year and I think it's very positive," said Verstappen.

Furthermore, he also admitted that he could not wait to immediately conduct a pre-season trial in Bahrain on February 21-23.

"I'm now looking forward to going to Bahrain, starting testing and really seeing the ability of this car," Verstappen said.

Before leaving for Bahrain, Verstappen was given his first chance to be behind the wheel of RB20 when the team held their own private session at Silverstone some time ago.

However, the three-time world champion assessed that the session had not run optimally, due to the wet track conditions. He was also looking forward to trying out the car in a dry track condition.

"Unfortunately the condition at that time was quite wet, so we only drove with tires (specifically when) it was raining. However, everything worked well and I think such progress is always good," said Verstappen.

"I got out of the car and the garage and there was no problem. Now, we just need to finish the work we have to do before we arrive in Bahrain," he added