Even before Isack Hadjar’s spectacular run to third place in the Dutch GP speculation was rife about what Max Verstappen could do if he was at the wheel of the VCARB 02.
The fact that rookie Hadjar finished the Zandvoort race in the wheel tracks of the World Champion only added to the intrigue.
Even Fernando Alonso joined in the fun, suggesting that the Dutchman would be fighting for the World Championship if he was at the wheel of the sister team’s car.
In theory Verstappen could have a run in an FP1 session just to get a feel for where the Faenza car is better or worse than his own, and he could provide both his own team and Racing Bulls with some useful feedback.
A straight swap could also allow Hadjar to have an FP1 session in a Red Bull, giving the main team a little taster of his talent ahead of any decision over next season.
You could also argue that it’s something that is more likely to be green lit with former Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies in charge than it would have been under Christian Horner.
However Max swapping over even for a single session could also be a very public admission that RBR hasn’t done a good enough job of late, as well as providing fuel for rivals who already think that there’s a little too much co-operation between the two teams, notwithstanding the fact that Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have swapped back and forward.
An FP1 session would be one thing, but at the other end of the scale is the enticing but highly improbable prospect of Verstappen actually spending a whole weekend with Racing Bulls.
It’s a great idea for fans to ponder over, and it would be a huge PR story for the sport, and for the overall Red Bull organisation.
Even F1 boss Stefano Domenicali admitted it would be fun when joking about the suggestion with journalists after the Dutch GP.
However the Racing Bulls camp insists that even a test is not on the horizon for Verstappen.
“I guess we are joking about it, as everybody else does,” CEO Peter Bayer told me after Hadjar’s third place at Zandvoort. “But at the end of the day, we’re two teams that operate differently, and it’s not really a question. It’s more like a running gag for everyone.”
But couldn’t it be considered at the end of the year, when there are no championship positions at stake?
“The thing is in F1 always everything is at stake. It’s about making things predictable, not putting things in jeopardy. It’s not considered, it’s not discussed. It’s not happening.
“I think we’ve been working so hard to develop our identity, and to move Racing Bulls up. It’s not an option to me. It sounds like me flying to the moon. It’s just not something that will happen…”
Team principal Alan Permane also insisted that it’s not even on the radar.
“It’s not, honestly,” he told me. “We’re just focused on our own thing. That’s something that you guys chat about.
“Someone asked me at the weekend, is Max going to get in it for a P1 session? And of course, he’s not. We’re just focused on getting the most out of it, as Red Bull are focused on getting the most out of their car.”
Permane says it wouldn’t even be an option at the post-season Abu Dhabi tyre test: “Not really. I think what’s more interesting will be us learning about next year’s tyres, which is what we’ll do at that test at the end of the year. So there’s plenty of serious stuff to do.”
There is a precedent of sorts – back in 1994 Michael Schumacher had a test with Benetton’s then sister team Ligier, essentially get a feel for the Renault V10 he’d be using the following year.
However he refused to give the French outfit any feedback on what he thought about the chassis, much to the frustration of the engineers who had arranged the test.
Adam Cooper F1 
Schumacher commenting on the 1994 Ligier would have been pointless, as they were poised to run a (closely-derived) Benetton chassis in 1995.
Would be cool to see