Max Verstappen has warned fellow world champion Lewis Hamilton that it will be 'a bit weird' when he's inevitably excluded from Mercedes meetings in 2024.
The 39-year-old has a full season before his departure for Ferrari, meaning that there will be parts of Mercedes' development for the following season that they won't want Hamilton taking over to their rivals.
The Brit has made the decision in one last attempt to try and claim an unprecedented eighth title, signing a contract with the Maranello-based team that will take him well into his 40s.
The Brit has vowed to make his final season with Mercedes a good one, as he attempts to return the Brackley-based outfit to winning ways, with himself not having won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in 2025Lewis Hamilton shares a good relationship with Mercedes team principal Toto WolffMax Verstappen is settled with his world champion Red Bull team
Hamilton to be banned from Mercedes meetings
Despite Hamilton's great relationship with the team and key personnel at Mercedes, including team boss Toto Wolff, Verstappen believes it is inevitable that the seven-time world champion will start to be excluded from meetings.
This is out of fear that he may take key bits of information with him to Ferrari, who Mercedes hope to be challenging for world championship titles in the future.
“For sure he [Hamilton] has a great relationship with everyone, especially Toto, but at one point Toto for sure will tell him, ‘Look, I know we’ve had all this success. But you can’t be part of certain meetings any more,'" Verstappen told media at his Red Bull team's season launch.
"That is normal in F1. It’s probably a bit weird. But you are professional enough to deal with that.
“It’s not like they are suddenly enemies. He has achieved so many great things with them. They are still behind him. It’s just you know at one point you can’t share certain stuff. But once he’s sitting in the car they will of course go flat out for him.”
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