Max Verstappen’s future, Ferrari’s present, and more F1 mailbag questions answered

Opening up the F1 mailbag before the Miami Grand Prix

With the Formula 1 grid returning to the United States for this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, we thought it was a perfect time to open up the mailbag.

However, with the timing lining up with the 2025 NFL Draft, some football questions crept in. So ... something for everyone!

Let’s dive in. Thank you to everyone who submitted a question!

If you’ll indulge me on an NFL question as a Pats fan: Can Will Campbell improve our awful pass block win rate so Drake can cook?

Back to F1: The noise around Jack Doohan getting replaced has calmed down in recent weeks. Has he done enough to finish the year or is a move to Colapinto around the corner? — @fanampfantasyhq on Threads

Ah yes, a beautiful question to begin with, with the NFL Draft having recently drawn to a close.

Let me say that I believe Campbell was a phenomenal selection and exactly what the Patriots needed to do in that spot, given how the draft began ahead of them. I know there are concerns about his arm length — or lack thereof — but this deep dive into that question featuring insight from Dante Scarnecchia is well worth your time.

Ultimately, where I came down on Campbell is here: His “short” arms were not a problem against SEC pass rushers, and he has the technique to handle life on the edge in the NFL, even if his arms did not check the box scouts tend to look for.

Now, to the bigger question, remember this.

Offensive line is a weak link position group.

This concept has been drilled into my head by scouts, coaches, and general managers alike. If you have four good offensive linemen and one bad offensive lineman, you do not have a good offensive line. Think of it from the opposing defensive coordinator’s perspective. If your upcoming opponent has one bad offensive lineman, but four good ones, where is every blitz package going? Where are you lining up your best pass rusher on third-and-long?

Campbell is a piece of the puzzle, but it is not complete yet.

As for Jack Doohan, he has not done enough yet where we can say he will be in the seat all season long. I think that is fair. But that is life in Formula 1. However, I have some confidence that he’ll put in a solid performance down in Miami. His first international win came in Florida, and I think he put the break to good use.

What are some similarities between covering the NFL and F1? Even more specifically, covering the NFL draft versus going to a race in Miami. — @MidfieldPod on Threads

Honestly, there are more differences I think than similarities.

Open, brutal honesty is rare in the NFL. To the point that when a coach or a player truly opens up it becomes a meme. Think of Jim Mora’s “Playoffs?” rant, or Dennis Green’s “They are who we thought they were” post-game explosion.

More often than not, post-game comments are filled with refrains such as “we have to go check the tape” or “we’ll learn from this and move on.” Well, sometimes there is not much to learn from a 56-0 loss.

That is especially true for the NFL Draft, which could also be called the league’s official Lying Season. I take every single story I hear during the NFL Draft, whether about a player in particular, a potential trade, a potential prospect a team is eying, or anything else, with a massive grain of salt. There is a motive behind every text, every private message, and every phone call. To the point where I almost dismiss it out of hand.

In F1? Brutal honesty is the name of the game.

The stopwatch does not lie, and unlike the NFL where you can point to 22 players on the field and make the case that you will not know what went wrong until you review everything, the data is there for everyone to see minutes after a session ends. Brake too early on your final corner in Q3 and miss out on pole position? It’s there for the world to see. Miss the apex and miss out on Q1? The article breaking that down is written before you speak with Lawrence Barretto. So there is no hiding, and brutal honesty is the norm.

For me, that is one of the many reasons I love F1 so much. The honesty.

From what you have seen so far and what you know of the tracks coming up in the next few races, is Ferrari climbing up or was the podium more of a blip? — @theromit on Threads

From the outside looking in, it does seem like things are rather uneven at Ferrari right now.

Lewis Hamilton, after sounding optimistic following the Bahrain Grand Prix was anything but following his P7 in Jeddah. That left Team Principal Frederic Vasseur fielding questions about Hamilton’s struggles, and while Vasseur went to the mattresses to defend his driver, it is clear that some work remains to get Hamilton’s full confidence in the SF-25.

Still, Charles Leclerc’s podium in Saudi Arabia may be a sign of opportunities to come, if only for one reason.

Weather.

While Mercedes is off to a “good” start this year, according to Team Principal Toto Wolff, an issue that plagued them a season ago reared its head in Saudi Arabia. Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli struggled with overheating tires, which ruined any chance of a podium finish.

“Tonight was all about the tires and unfortunately, ours were suffering from overheating. I was pushing to stay with Verstappen at the start of the second stint, but it quickly became clear that we weren’t going to be able to hang on,” said Russell after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. “I tried to manage the tires a little more but, with the tire age offset they had built, Leclerc and Norris were able to move ahead. After that, my tires dropped off the cliff and it was all about just bringing the car home in P5.”

“That was our worst performance of the year so far. The pace dropped away as our tires overheated and that was frustrating. We came into the race hoping we could compete for the podium but, with the limitations we had with the tires, P5 and P6 was the maximum for us,” added Wolff. “We need to analyze our performance, work out why that was the case, and quickly find improvements. The next race in Miami is another race on a hot track surface so we will need to be better than we were today if we want to avoid a repeat performance.”

If Mercedes continues to struggle with overheating — and Miami is expected to be another hot weekend — that could open doors for Ferrari.

Of course, Lando Norris might not start in P10 each race.

Question for you lol how do you feel going into this race after having gone to some last year as press? does it feel different? — @undrgrndcircuit_ on Threads

It feels very, very different.

Last year’s Miami Grand Prix was my first F1 race as an FIA-credentialed media member.

And I was completely lost. Literally and figuratively. It took me hours to figure out how to get into the paddock — you know, which is in the middle of the HUGE NFL STADIUM — and even longer to figure out where to go, and when. The best example might have been with the catering situation. The press area for media members is on the press box level of Hard Rock Stadium. I could only find this one area with snacks and just assumed that things like chips, cookies, and popcorn along with drinks were all that were offered.

Until Saturday night when I smelled some fish and went up a set of stairs to what looked like a restaurant, on the club level. Where there was food for miles, including some of the best cod I’ve ever had. I had no idea it was there for basically three days, and was living off cookies and soda.

Which is not usually a bad thing but still ...

So it took a while to get my F1 media legs under me. I did not ask many questions in media scrums, press conferences, or the like, deferring to those around me. I was happy to take it all in. Another prime example was Frederic Vasseur’s post-race press availability in the Ferrari hospitality space. I am pretty sure I was the only media member who did not ask a question.

Fred knew it too, because he smiled and winked at me after he finished giving his final answer. I did appreciate that.

Then came the United States Grand Prix in Austin. With that as my second F1 race as a credentialed media member, I was much more comfortable asking questions in scrums, hospitality spaces, and the like. I even interviewed Lewis Hamilton minutes after he spun out in the opening portion of the race, along with just one other media member. So the confidence level had increased by then.

Still have not asked Fred a question yet. Hoping to change that this week.

Is the Max leaving Red Bull stuff bored reporters, a real possibility, or something else? — @ChrisBaileyGuy on Bluesky

Honestly? I think all of the above applies here.

Let’s start with a fact of F1 media life: Driver transfer speculation and rumors click. They absolutely click, as my editors and bosses keep reminding me. A deep dive into a qualifying performance using telemetry data? I love writing pieces like that — and you’ll probably see a few this week — but they do not exactly move the needle for massive page views.

Speculation about Driver X leaving Team Y for Team Z? That clicks.

ESPECIALLY when Max Verstappen is that driver.

Now, are there reasons to write those stories at the moment? Sure. The RB21 is not the challenger the team was hoping to give Verstappen this year, at least not yet. While he is still talented enough to win with it, Red Bull’s challenger is not the dominant package on the grid. And as he has said many times — and Christian Horner has admitted — Verstappen wants to have the fastest car. Every driver does.

The concern at Red Bull that they cannot deliver Verstappen the fastest car on the grid is real.

The speculation only grows when there are dots to connect, as there are with Verstappen. Sure, every team on the grid would love to sign him. But one can easily draw a connection from Verstappen to Aston Martin given one, Adrian Newey and two, the upcoming partnership with Honda. Leadership at the manufacturer has made it clear they would love to work with Verstappen again, they powered all four of his Drivers’ Championships, and again the connection is easy to make.

So, I think part of the speculation is because driver transfer news is a story all fans gravitate towards. But there is a part of this that is underlined by genuine concern at Red Bull that if they do not nail these upgrades and give Verstappen a faster car before the year is over, the exit door — which at the moment is possibly open just the tiniest of cracks — could swing open.

SB Nation will be on the ground for the entire Miami Grand Prix, so check our story stream all week long for full coverage!