"Hamilton-Verstappen would be the dream team"

A team line-up of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen at Mercedes would be a "dream team", Tony Jardine thinks, as he believes Verstappen would be keen for a switch to Mercedes in the future.

Hamilton and Mercedes have completely dominated the turbo-hybrid era since 2014, winning all five double championships since then, and with Hamilton winning four drivers' championships in that period.

Meanwhile, since making his debut at 17 years old at Toro Rosso in 2015, Verstappen has emerged as the next big thing in F1, winning five races since being promoted to Red Bull during the 2016 season. In 2018, he's had his strongest season thus far, getting over ten podiums during the year for the Bulls. Could he make the switch to Mercedes in the future? 

"It would be the dream team, wouldn't it," Jardine, a former McLaren, Brabham and Lotus employee speculated when talking to Express Sport.

"Mercedes would love to be able to do that. I'm sure Verstappen would love to go to Mercedes if they're still very competitive.

"But, I actually think a bit like [Sebastian] Vettel who protests as much as he can about who his team-mate might be, which is another reason why Daniel Ricciardo, we all thought he was a shoo-in at Ferrari, [Vettel] kept him out, Lewis might be able to keep Verstappen out," he referred to reports of this summer where Vettel vetoed a potential move for Ricciardo to Ferrari after their rocky relationship at Red Bull in 2014.

With Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and now George Russell all eyeing the second seat at Mercedes beyond 2019, a Hamilton-Verstappen line-up currently looks unlikely. But, you never know in F1...