Max Verstappen believes Carlos Sainz Jr. will be Sebastian Vettel’s replacement at Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 after the German announced his departure from the team at the end of the current season.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver was speaking to former Formula 1 race winner David Coulthard in an Instagram Q&A session for Puma, and Verstappen has distanced himself from the seat, saying his future lies set with his current team.
“The speculation was going on a bit, is he going to continue with Ferrari or not – well today it’s out, he’s not,” said Verstappen. “I guess also very soon we’ll find out who the replacement is going to be.
“It’s definitely not me, I can tell you. I’m at Red Bull. I saw some questions coming along if I was going to Ferrari, but I’m not.
“It is what it is. Somebody else gets an opportunity to drive now for Ferrari, and of course it’s a great team, and I’m sure they will make the right decision about the next driver. Let’s see what’s going to happen there.”
Verstappen has been team-mates to two of the drivers being linked to the seat in Daniel Ricciardo and Sainz, and he believes the Spaniard will be the most likely of the two to find a home at Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc next season.
Sainz partnered Verstappen at Scuderia Toro Rosso throughout 2015 and for the opening few races of 2016 before he joined Ricciardo at Red Bull until the Australian switched to the Renault F1 Team for 2019.
“I think it’s not going to be the Italian sounding name,” Verstappen added. “Let’s see. At the end of the day, it’s just a guess. We’ll have to wait and see.”
