Herbert: Verstappen in high demand, Hamilton lost & crushed

The former F1 driver warned that every driver on the grid should be “worried” about losing their seat if Red Bull cannot deliver a competitive package in the 2026 season.

Herbert said: “Every single driver on that grid should be worried about their seat for 2027. Because Max is going to be going for one of those big seats unless Red Bull absolutely do an amazing job next season.”

He explained that Verstappen’s aura remains a decisive force, adding: “That is going to be something that the drivers will once again fear. It is far from over as far as the next World Championship that is going to be coming his way.”

Herbert believes Verstappen has the power to “pick and choose” his future, describing him as “the dictator of the driver market” given what he expects to be “another one, two or maybe even three or four World Championships coming in.”

Herbert was blunt in his assessment of Ferrari after a season marked by inconsistency, strategic confusion and a failure to progress despite bringing in Lewis Hamilton alongside Charles Leclerc.

He said: “Unfortunately, the most disappointing team of 2025 has got to be Ferrari. There is always so many expectations and so much want for them to get back to those winning ways. But for whatever reason the team cannot seem to shake itself into a situation of having all the right ingredients from the car, from the engine, from the internal structure, to what they needed when it comes down to strategy.”

Herbert noted that Leclerc “has really driven the wheels off that car” but the team never found sustainable form across the calendar.

He added that Hamilton’s struggles, combined with Ferrari’s failure to deliver the anticipated performance leap for 2025, made the season particularly disappointing.

“There is now a reset for 2026, so let us hope that reset is something that brings them back into contention," he commented.

Herbert expressed deep concern about Hamilton’s form and emotional state through 2025, calling this year the most difficult of the seven time World Champion’s career.

He said: “Lewis changed his engineer once this season. It was obvious for everybody it was not working. The big difficulty that Lewis has is how he turns around his worst ever year in F1. When you see him interviewed, it is a Lewis I have never seen before. He just seems to be completely lost and crushed.”

Herbert warned that Hamilton is “in danger of tarnishing his legacy,” suggesting the decline may already be under way.

He explained: “It is not as if it has happened to both drivers. It has only happened to one and there is a point, and it is a very hard point, to know when to choose to stop.”

Herbert contrasted Hamilton with Nico Rosberg, noting that “others hang on and never get that opportunity ever again.”

Herbert said Hamilton’s most recent interviews carried the tone of a driver considering closure; he said: “I could see Lewis Hamilton’s words as a farewell speech, yes.”

He added that if Hamilton truly feels that he no longer understands how to resolve his problems, “then why carry on?”

The retired driver believes family discussions may already be happening suggesting: “Maybe he has a sit down with Anthony and his mum to discuss where he is at.”

He described Hamilton’s current demeanour as “this horrible dark place,” adding: “Everything seems harder, way harder, whereas it was simple.

"He never even had to think about it. It just happened. It has gone. Will it come back? I would be very surprised.”

Herbert expects 2026 to bring the largest competitive reset in years, predicting that Mercedes will emerge as early frontrunners under the new regulations while Red Bull may suffer.

He said: “Whenever there has been a shift in the changes in the rules, there is always one that dominates and dominates by one or two or so seconds. Mercedes are the one that everybody was talking about, were way ahead of everybody else. They were probably a year ago. They will be very strong out of the blocks.”

He believes McLaren will also be competitive in early 2026 and suggested Red Bull could struggle under the new power unit formula.

“From what I understand Red Bull are going to be struggling because of the power unit that they have got," he said.

The F1 pundit alsp expects one of the biggest changes for drivers will be the new electronically controlled active wings replacing DRS.

“It will be very interesting to see how the drivers react to that, how they are, how they feel with the car," he said.

Herbert’s comments underline the scale of uncertainty ahead of the next regulatory cycle, the fragility of Ferrari’s reset, the sharp decline Hamilton must reverse, and the growing sense that Verstappen will once again shape the future of the F1 driver market.

(Quotes from NewBettingSites)