Although Ferrari have brought seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton into the fold, Tom Coronel still believes they should’ve offered Max Verstappen a “blank cheque” to join.

Almost 12 months after his move to Ferrari was announced, Hamilton is officially a Scuderia driver and spent his first days at Maranello last week.

Have Ferrari signed the wrong driver for F1 2025?

The Briton’s visit culminated in his first on-track outing behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car when he drove the team’s 2023 car at the Fiorano circuit on Wednesday.

It took place as a crowd of more than a thousand Tifosi watched on, joined by the world’s media such is the pulling power of Sir Lewis Hamilton.

A marketing dream, a mega-millions partnership and the potential for a record-breaking eighth World title, Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to Ferrari has it all.

It begs the question, will F1’s latest dominant World Champion Max Verstappen follow suit in the years to come?

Coronel reckons Ferrari should’ve already made it happen, offering Verstappen a name-your-price deal to race in red.

“It’s the same feeling, Ferrari is Ferrari,” the Dutch racing driver and pundit told Racingnews365.

“That’s why I said last year, before Hamilton announced the switch, if I had been Fred Vasseur, I would have sent the entire Verstappen camp a blank cheque.”

Coronel first urged Ferrari to sign Verstappen in late 2023, four months before the Scuderia confirmed Hamilton’s arrival, as he felt that would be the only way they’d win a World title.

He told formule1.nl at the time: “If I were the boss of Ferrari I would immediately call Max Verstappen’s management. I would give him a blank cheque on which he can fill in the amount per year, as long as Max wears a red suit.”

“The company will almost go bankrupt,” he added with a smile, “but if you want to win, that’s simply the only option.”

He also believes a title with Ferrari would cement Verstappen’s place in F1’s history annals.

“You are only really a successful racing driver if you win the title in a Ferrari,” said the Dutch driver.

“I don’t want to detract from Max’s success at all, because he is going to break all the records in the world. He is more than special and all the proof has already been provided, we don’t need to talk about that anymore.

“But if you are wearing a red Ferrari suit, you are not a Formula 1 driver, you are next level.”

But with Verstappen committed to Red Bull through to the end of the F1 2028 championship, it looked as if Ferrari would instead continue with Carlos Sainz as Charles Leclerc’s team-mate only for the Scuderia to shock the paddock, and Sainz, by announcing Hamilton.

Although neither Ferrari nor Hamilton have revealed details about his contract beyond it being a “multi-year” deal, it is reportedly a three-year contract from 2025 to 2027.

But while Verstappen could make the move to Ferrari then, he’s made it clear that racing for the Scuderia is not a bucket list item that he needs to tick off.

“People often ask if I have a dream team,” he said. “I know Ferrari has a unique history in F1 so this is a team that would be great to race for.

“But I’ve always told myself that I just want to drive the strongest car.”