Di Montezemolo stirs the pot: Verstappen “by far” No.1 as Ferrari shuffle continues to bite
Luca di Montezemolo didn’t say Lewis Hamilton’s name. He didn’t need to. The former Ferrari president gave a sharp little nudge to Maranello’s current reality this week, praising the old Leclerc–Sainz blend while marvelling, like the rest of the paddock, at the one driver who still bends seasons to his will: Max Verstappen.
“Today, Verstappen is by far the number one,” di Montezemolo told Reuters, pointing to Baku as exhibit A. On a tricky day by the Caspian Sea, Verstappen kept it clean, fast, and absolutely in control. That much was obvious. What wasn’t, at least a year ago, was how different Ferrari’s 2025 would look now that the biggest move of the winter — Hamilton in red, Carlos Sainz out — has properly landed.
Ferrari’s decision to bring Hamilton alongside Charles Leclerc was ruthless and, at the time, perfectly understandable. Sainz, 99.9% sure he was re-signing, got the call from Fred Vasseur instead: thanks, but it’s Lewis. Sainz took his talent to Williams. And somewhere between the headlines and hard miles, the narrative twisted.
Hamilton’s arrival was meant to be a spark. On paper: race wins, maybe more. In practice: a sprint victory in China, plenty of graft, and the nagging sense he’s still searching for the last few tenths in the SF-25. No grand prix podiums yet, three P4 finishes the best so far, while Leclerc keeps clocking in with top-three results. As it stands, Leclerc’s got a comfortable buffer over his new teammate in the standings, and the scoreboard backs it up.
Sainz, meanwhile, was supposed to walk into Williams and hammer Alex Albon. He didn’t — not at first. But Baku changed the temperature. Sainz hustled to third in Azerbaijan, Williams’ first full-points podium since 2017, and the crowd named him Driver of the Day. He slipped behind George Russell late on, sure, but it was still a landmark, and a reminder of what Ferrari let go.
That’s the backdrop to di Montezemolo’s not-so-cryptic aside: “If tomorrow I will be obliged to go to work in Ferrari, in one week I have clear in my mind who to put in different positions.” The man has never exactly done subtle, and you don’t need a decoder ring to get the gist. He liked the balance of Leclerc–Sainz. He likes Verstappen even more.
Is that fair on Hamilton? Depends on your appetite for context. Integrating into a new team, new engine philosophy, and a car with its own quirks isn’t an overnight job — even for a seven-time World Champion. The flashes are there. The base speed often is too. But the clean weekends Leclerc keeps stitching together have been harder to come by on the other side of the garage. Rome wasn’t built in a day; neither was an optimal front-end feel.
For Sainz, Williams has been a different kind of puzzle. The pace ceiling isn’t the same as a works Ferrari, and being measured against a very fast Albon has exposed weaknesses as much as strengths. Baku looked and felt like vindication: aggressive, confident, decisive. The Spaniard’s always been a rhythm driver; in Azerbaijan, the rhythm came back.
Of course, all of this sits under the Verstappen umbrella. Di Montezemolo’s admiration wasn’t a surprise — team bosses past and present tend to appreciate the unusual simplicity of Verstappen’s racecraft. He rarely squanders opportunities. He rarely lets a weekend unravel. And when he’s got a sniff of control, the race is often over by lap 10.
Ferrari’s bet on Hamilton was bold. It still could pay off. There’s a long way to go in a 24-race season, and a driver of Hamilton’s calibre doesn’t stay out of contention forever. But di Montezemolo’s comments tap into a familiar Italian anxiety: did Ferrari overthink something that was already working?
The truth, as ever, sits somewhere in the middle. Leclerc has been the standard-bearer, Hamilton’s learning curve is still bending in the right direction, and Sainz—once deemed expendable—remains the guy who turns a half-chance into a podium on a day when the car doesn’t quite deserve it.
And hovering over all of them is Verstappen, still the yardstick. That much, at least, isn’t up for debate.
