Max Verstappen handed 'don't leave it too late' like Lewis Hamilton warning

Max Verstappen has been warned not to follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and leave it "too late" should he have any desire to one day join Ferrari.

Four-time F1 champion Verstappen was heavily linked with Mercedes this year until the expiry of a clause in his Red Bull contract just before the summer break that has placed any move on hold until next season at the earliest.

Verstappen, however, now has the luxury of assessing the pecking order for next season under the new power unit and chassis regulations before making any decisions.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Ferrari is also on his radar, although the Scuderia currently has a strong pairing of Charles Leclerc and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton. Still, the latter has struggled in his first year with the team.

Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine believes Hamilton, at the age of 40, was "too old" to join the Maranello squad, with his best years behind him, despite his long-held desire to race in red.

Irvine is hoping that if Verstappen has any designs on being a Ferrari driver, he decides to move on far sooner than Hamilton did.   

"The problem with Lewis, he came a bit too old, but he won seven world championships, so there’s always a price," said Irvine, speaking to Sky Sports.

Referencing his team-mate at Ferrari for four seasons from 1996-1999 in Michael Schumacher, who endured that period before going on to win five titles in a row to take his tally to seven, Irvine added: "Michael gave up a lot.

"Michael probably gave up two, three, maybe even more world championships to leave Benetton to go [to Ferrari].

"In the first few years, people have no idea how bad it was at Ferrari. Michael knew. There was no point for him. He was so much better than everyone else. He just decided, ‘I’m going to go there. I’m going to see what I can do,’ which was amazing, and he got there.

"But people forget, it took four years. He was always in the vicinity. He was driving the wheels off the thing to try and be there, so it was very easy for it not to happen.

“But I would love Verstappen to come to Ferrari. I think the two of them together would be sensational. I hope he doesn’t leave it too late like Lewis did."

Verstappen 'another world' like Schumacher

Irvine feels that a Verstappen switch to Ferrari would have a knock-on effect, as was the case when Schumacher left Benetton to join the Scuderia.

“It’s very difficult [at[ Ferrari, because they’re on their own in Italy,” said Irvine. “The British teams are all surrounded by other teams, and there’s cross-pollination. It’s so much more difficult to be on your own in Maranello. That’s it. It’s always more difficult for Ferrari.

“They have the image, they have the history, they have everything except they don’t have that cross-pollination, and that’s really tough.

“Back in my day, you had Michael come; he was seen as by far the fastest driver. Because of that, Rory Byrne came, Ross [Brawn] came, and that whole team was built around the fact that Michael was another world.

“A bit like Verstappen is now, where if Verstappen went somewhere, he could take a lot of people. Without the whole system together, everyone’s at the same level. It’s tough, Formula 1’s tough," before then singling out McLaren and its achievements, especially as an independent manufacturer.

"I'm amazed at what McLaren has done, from where they've come from," said Irvine. "It just shows you it's possible. Ron Dennis never thought that [winning a title as an independent] was possible. And Zak Brown is really 10 out of 10. He's done an amazing job."