The executive Mark Rushbrook revealed that they maintain "regular" conversations with the Dutchman. "We love Max," he stated. The four time F1 champion seeks new horizons due to his discontent with the current regulations.
Max Verstappen is getting closer to making the jump to the world of endurance racing. Mark Rushbrook, a Ford executive, confirmed in an exclusive interview with Motorsport that the American brand maintains regular conversations with the Dutchman for him to compete in the Hypercar category of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2027.
"Do we have conversations with Max? Yes, of course," Rushbrook declared bluntly. "We love Max, we love what he does in the Formula 1 car. We also value him off the track. He's a great person, as good as the great driver he is," added the executive, who did not hide the brand's admiration for the four time champion.
Ford's interest is not new, the company has already seen Verstappen compete in other categories, such as GT3, and values his role as a developer of young drivers through sim racing: "We love his passion for competing in GT3 and what he does developing drivers through SIM Racing, so of course we have regular conversations with him about what the possibilities are to do more in sportscars, including Hypercar. He's a driver: he wants to race," Rushbrook stated.
The Dutchman's discontent with the new Formula 1 regulations is the main driver of this search for new horizons, the four time champion has been one of the fiercest critics of the current regulations and has set off alarms at Red Bull by stating that he is considering leaving the category if major changes are not made.
In that context, the Austrian team has already set to work. According to Motorsport Italia, "it has been confirmed on several occasions within the paddock" that the higher echelons of Red Bull are considering hiring Oscar Piastri as a possible replacement if Verstappen decides to end his F1 career at the end of the season, however, the same medium indicates that there is still optimism that the Dutchman will continue with the team for 2027.
The hypothesis of a swap between Piastri and Verstappen has gained strength for two reasons. The first, the departure of Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen's historic engineer, who has headed to McLaren, the second, some old statements by Zak Brown, CEO of the papaya team.
"We have long term agreements with them, we have no intention of replacing either of our two superstars. Obviously, if one of them left, Max has a huge talent, but I don't foresee that happening," Brown told SkySports at the time.
For now, Verstappen remains focused on his present at Red Bull, but negotiations with Ford are a fact. And the door to the WEC is increasingly open.