Max Verstappen doesn’t care that Lewis Hamilton will race Ferrari next season, after all, he wants to beat “every driver from every car”.

Having beaten Hamilton to the 2021 World title, Verstappen went on to dominate Formula 1 in 2022 and again in 2023 while this season he’s the favourite to secure title number four given his 47-point lead in the Drivers’ standings.

Max Verstappen: It ‘doesn’t matter’ what car Lewis Hamilton races

As for Hamilton, he’s only won two Grands Prix since his title fight with Verstappen and next season will seek pastures red when he joins Ferrari.

The seven-time World Champion announced even before the first race of this season that he would be bidding farewell to Mercedes after 12 years with the Brackley squad to join Ferrari.

As to be expected, he told the media in Brazil that he’s “very interested” to see Ferrari’s progress with the Scuderia winning back-to-back races in Austin and Mexico to bring their season’s tally to five.

But while the world waits to see what the Hamilton and Ferrari partnership can achieve next season, one person on the grid doesn’t care.

Asked by Sport Bild if Hamilton to Ferrari was ‘good or bad’ for him, Verstappen said: “I don’t care.”

“Because I want to beat every driver from every car. It doesn’t matter to me whether Lewis is in the red or silver car.

“But I can understand that there is a lot of interest in his move. It’s a good thing for Formula 1. It will be interesting to see how he and Charles (Leclerc) work together within a team.”

Pressed on his first thoughts when he heard the news that Hamilton was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, the Red Bull driver replied: “It didn’t really affect me. I had zero emotions.”

No Ferrari dream for Max Verstappen

When Hamilton announced he would be racing for Ferrari, he spoke of the boyhood dream of racing in red.

“I think for every driver, I think growing up, watching the history, watching Michael Schumacher in his prime, I think probably all of us sit in our garage and see the screen pop up, and you see the driver in the red cockpit, and you wonder what it might be like to be surrounded by the red,” Hamilton said at the time.

Verstappen never had that.

“I see it pragmatically,” he explained. “I want to win. And I will want to drive where I have the best opportunity to do so. At the moment that is at Red Bull.

“But it’s not like I secretly dream of the red racing suit and the thought is constantly buzzing around in my head because I’m looking for a new challenge. Especially since there are no free cockpits anyway.

“But of course, the Ferrari brand is incredible and it has achieved a lot in our sport. It makes sense that Lewis took the opportunity when it arose.”

As for his own future, which was the subject of speculation earlier this year as Mercedes courted him as Hamilton’s replacement, Verstappen says he “never actually” thinks about his future.

“I’m happy with what I’m doing now and I want to keep doing it. I’m not looking for a change. That’s why speculation is unnecessary. I’m the one who ultimately has to decide. And at the moment I don’t see any need for action,” he said.

“I know exactly what is in my contract and what options there are. It is my duty to know that. You should never sign something you don’t know what it is. But I generally don’t talk about my contract in public.”

He reiterated though that a winning car is very much part of his criteria for the future.

“Performance. I want to be in a car that I can drive for victories and World Championships. But it also depends on the environment. If you can’t identify with the team and the employees, it’s no fun,” he said.