Why Lewis Hamilton joining Max Verstappen at Red Bull for one season would be brilliant for F1

There is no shortage of paddock wallahs who will tell you what’s not good for Formula One. Their diagnosis right now usually starts with Red Bull’s feared total dominance of the rest.

Well, let’s turn that equation on its head and ask exactly what would incontrovertibly be good for the sport. Deep breaths, first. The prescription here is the hitherto unthinkable: Lewis Hamilton joining Max Verstappen at Red Bull next season.

For one year only. A shootout between the young prince and the dethroned king.

We know the objections to this. They are obvious. For one, what would Red Bull gain by handing £40million to a second alpha when they already have the best of his generation in Verstappen, who is in a long and imperious vein of form?

For Verstappen, there is the danger of losing to Hamilton, bruising his legacy as the double and reigning world champion is busily creating it.

For Hamilton, there is the risk of undercutting his seven world titles by exposing himself in the late autumn of his career.

For team principal Christian Horner, there would be a bottle-of-Scotch kind of a headache.

Yet, I am not so sure that any of the key protagonists should shy away from the challenge to create the most vibrantly exciting tear-up since the Battle of Jericho.

Perhaps there would not even be any losers, just as neither boxer can truly be said to have lost if he has contributed with epic spirit to a bout for the ages.

Think what they would all stand to win. Verstappen has the chance to demonstrate his supremacy, as well as answer the questions you hear laid at Formula One’s door more than any other. Isn’t it all about the car? And who would win in equal machinery? And, with the guarantee that Lewis’s stay is for a single season, he could resume normal business on his current contract that takes him into his early 30s.

If he were to duck it, or have it ducked for him, his critics could say he put his record ahead of his gladiatorial calling.

As for Hamilton the years are ripening. 

He has no chance of winning the title this season. So he will be 39 when he has the next opportunity, but only if he finds himself in a car up to the task.

Such is his fierce will to succeed that he is refusing to buckle, or retire, until he has achieved the eighth world title that would represent his crowning glory.

And, anyway, he may never be happy to exit the stage, aware that the life of the ex-sportsman can be empty when the roar of the crowd – or the engine – fades away.

By going to Red Bull for one year, replacing the out-of-contract Sergio Perez, he would at least find out quickly whether his journey has more road to run. He either succeeds or heads off.

So what are his options? 

His clear first desire is to extend his affiliation with Mercedes. If he believes they have the means of successful reinvention, you can forget the Red Bull line.

Other options? A sabbatical? Madness at his age and usually a one-way ticket, even if Fernando Alonso is the recent exception that proved the rule.

Ferrari? Part of Hamilton once hankered to drive in red, but for all their historical greatness they have a recurring knack of finding the corner flag from a yard out.

And what about the wisdom of Horner accepting Hamilton to his stable at the third opportunity, after saying no prior to Lewis’s F1 career and when he was disgruntled at McLaren? Well, can you think of more positive PR?

The deal is this. Same money. Same machinery. Equally top staff each side of the garage. Equal distribution of upgrades. Toss of a coin arbitration in any either/or cases. Freedom to race.

May the better man win.