"In the dry, Ferrari has more options to f**k up the strategies": When Max Verstappen took a cheeky dig at the Italian team

Ferrari has a tainted strategy department, which even led Max Verstappen to take a jibe at the Italian giant's inability to utilise the optimum strategy in 2022. Ahead of the 2022 Belgian GP, the Dutchman was talking about the potential of rain affecting the race weekend, but he wished for dry weather to take over the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, as it supposedly meant that Ferrari were going to mess up their drivers' races.

The first half of the 2022 season saw a title battle develop between Ferrari and Red Bull, and the Scuderia had begun the season on the front foot. However, by the midway point, the Austrian giant had overtaken the prancing horses in the performance charts as Verstappen started to stretch out a lead over Charles Leclerc in the drivers' standings.

However, a glimmer of hope remained in the Italian camp as Verstappen had to start at the rear of the grid as he took on extra engine components out of his allocation. This meant that it was going to be a long day for the Dutchman, who wished for a strategy mishap on Ferrari's end by hoping for the weather to stay dry:

"Better if it's wet, no? More chaos, But in the dry, Ferrari has more options to f**k up the strategies."

Meanwhile, the race continued in dry weather, and Carlos Sainz's pole position converted to a mere podium result. However, Leclerc was dealt a huge blow as he tried to take the fastest lap away from Verstappen and tried to gain the bonus point.

But, the Monegasque sped in the pit lane, which halted him from taking away the fastest lap on the final lap of the race, and he dropped a further place down the road due to the time penalty.

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Max Verstappen once addressed the potential to move to Ferrari head-on

Max Verstappen after qualifying for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen has been under the wings of Red Bull since his junior racing days. However, the allure to drive for Ferrari did not even spare Lewis Hamilton.

Moreover, talking about his ambitions to potentially move to Ferrari in the first quarter of 2024, Verstappen said (via PlanetF1)

"I don’t want to sound disrespectful or whatever. I have a lot of respect for the brand [of] Ferrari, but I’m very happy where I’m at the moment. I’m comfortable in the environment that I’m in here, so for me it’s not something that I’m looking for to change or whatever." "In my life, also, I know that you always – with what I’ve experienced so far – never say never with things. But for me now, no. It’s not even in my head but, again, it’s only Formula 1. I want to do more things [outside of] Formula 1 as well."

On the other hand, Max Verstappen's current employer, Red Bull, is struggling in the 2025 championship campaign. Ferrari and Mercedes have leapfrogged the Austrian giant in the constructors' standings, and the Dutchman sits at the crossroads of whether to ditch Red Bull to join another manufacturer for 2026.

Edited by pranavsethii