Jos Verstappen has claimed that his son, Max, was approached by Ferrari prior to signing for Red Bull in 2014.
The Scuderia requested to sign the then-17-year-old while he was racing for Toro Rosso.
Jos told media sources that team Ferrari scouted his son after his inaugural F1 season but that: “Now Max has everything at Red Bull, a competitive car and team, it wouldn’t make sense to change.”
The Dutch-Belgian driver didn’t receive a promotion until the midway point of his second season in F1 – after which he went on win his debut at Red Bull.
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It wasn’t until 2021 that Verstappen won a World Championship with Red Bull.
He also claimed an early victory in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix with the team.
Jos’ revelation comes at an interesting time, as Max has refused to rule out moving to Ferrari at some point in his career, saying the Scuderia was a “dream team.”
However, Red Bull’s current domination of F1 is affecting Verstappen’s rationale behind a potential switch, with the driver saying that Ferrari would need to build a quicker car before he could seriously consider switching allegiances.
Verstappen commented: “I know Ferrari has an amazing history in Formula One and is an amazing team to race for, but I always said to myself I just want to be in the fastest car.
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“I had to wait a few years to be in the fastest car and now we do have the fastest car and that is a great feeling.”
It remains purely speculative as to when – and if – Verstappen will cross over to Ferrari’s side, however, British racing driver Richard Bradley has predicted that it will happen within “a couple of years.”
Verstappen is keeping his cards close to his chest at the moment, commenting: “At this stage, if it happens, it happens but I’m very happy where I am and for me personally, the desire of having to drive for one particular team at all costs, no.”