Max Verstappen to Aston Martin rumours have re-emerged this week, although the Dutchman’s heart is still with Red Bull.
Verstappen recently reiterated his desire to see out his F1 career with Red Bull, if possible, meaning it’ll be particularly interesting to see how well the Milton Keynes-based squad adjusts to the new ruleset next season.
According to a report by the Daily Mail from the United Kingdom, Aston Martin was going to get sponsors, since Marketing Sales director Jefferson Slack, supposedly told the possible sponsors that Verstappen will come to Aston Martin.
Aston Martin “categorically denied” the story, while the Verstappen camp’s brief comment on the matter “is good,” according to Dutch publication GPBlog.
But while the official line is denial that Slack is telling potential investors in the team that Verstappen is coming, the rumours about the possibility haven’t gone away ever since last year’s speculation that team owner Lawrence Stroll has targeted Verstappen to join his team.
Given the high-profile signings Stroll’s squad has secured over the last 12 months, including Honda and Adrian Newey, is it really that far-fetched to think Verstappen could join the Silverstone-based squad?
It’s a romantic idea, with Max Verstappen reuniting with Adrian Newey and Honda and conquering the Global again, but this time in green rather than blue.
Previously, the only question mark hanging over Aston Martin’s long-term potential was whether they could fully utilise the relationship with Honda and overcome any potential communication and cultural hurdles.
The NewEy firm promises that this will be the case. Aston Martin-Honda is expected to be more Red Bull-Honda than the 2015-2017 McLaren-Honda models.
Still, there’s a problem: even with Newey on its side, Aston Martin may still be unable to save Mercedes from dominating under the 2026 rules.
For some time now there have been whispers that Mercedes’ preparations for F1’s new era are more advanced than most – certainly more so than the all-new RBPT-Ford alliance and a Honda effectively returning to the sport after some years away.
An era of domination that remembers that of 2014 (Mercedes won almost all races, consumer groups such as Alpine and Williams rose in competitive order and competed for normal podiums) is not unreal.
After his good fortune in recent years, Verstappen is unlikely to have any interest in building a comeback team and instant functionality will be the precedence of any Red Bull moves.
A switch to Aston Martin, appealing though it may be, risks leaving him in the same situation he found at Red Bull between 2017-20: often the biggest threat to Mercedes, but not quite close enough to maintain a serious challenge.
That is why Mercedes is still a clear favorite to sign Verstappen.
I think it’s impossible for Verstappen not to be somewhat interested in seeing how Aston Martin fares over the next season or two.
On paper, the Silverstone-based team has all the ingredients: a no-nonsense team to match that has demonstrated forged control capabilities in Mercedes HPP, a Honda engine with which Verstappen has received all his good fortune in the name and the new facility in the team’s factory logo.
Enrico Cardin has proven himself against Ferrari in recent years and of course the prospect of tracking down Adrian Newey will have to prove intriguing to Verstappen.
I believe 2026 is the line in the sand. While Aston Martin has pulled all these individually great ingredients together, this is a team that is still pushing for its first Grand Prix win in its current guise, let alone a championship push.
Red Bull’s war preparation came to the aid in 2024, but McLaren showed that it was imaginable to take the fight to them even without that full preparation. Aston Martin will gain confidence from this.
The big brand focuses on the engine: it doesn’t make sure that Red Bull Grandtrains nails the very complex engine regulations the first time.
However, the same can be said for Honda: the Japanese manufacturer’s first hybrid powertrains were weak and unreliable, and when racing with Red Bull those fragilities disappeared.
If Red Bull demonstrates competitive in 2026, and Verstappen will remain in Milton Keynes.
If Red Bull is dazzling in the hunt, or if Aston Martin shows a transparent improvement with the new regulations, he will overcome the door of the walk.
Aston Martin would possibly have Alonso and walk under contract for the next two seasons, but, with the end of Alonso’s F1 career in sight, there is no explanation as to why it would be a precedence to stay on board, specifically given the promise of a long-term F1 position link between logo and driver.
If Red Bull in 2026 doesn’t perform, I suspect we will have a Verstappen and Lance Stroll partnership at Aston Martin in 2027.
Max Verstappen to Aston Martin? Lawrence Stroll wishes!
Despite Red Bull’s upheavals in 2024, many of which took position off the track, Verstappen has shown himself to be an unwavering person. And in today’s world, that’s an admirable trait.
I can’t see him swapping Red Bull for Aston Martin any more than I would swap his quadruple championship team for Mercedes, Ferrari or any other F1 team. When Max is done with Red Bull, he is also done with Formula 1.
He entered Formula 1 with Red Bull, racing for the team’s junior kit before he was promoted to a Red Bull seat and won on debut.
Last year, Mercedes entered the verbal exchange when Toto Wolff publicly courted Verstappen, however, even though he recently admitted that it was never an option with Verstappen, making it transparent to the Mercedes team boss that he satisfied with Red Bull. comments which reiterated to the media.
“I love what I do and while I enjoy it, I will stay here and continue driving in F1,” he said. “If I need to move on to another place, I will go to another place. But for the moment, it is not in my head.
If anything, if Verstappen leaves Red Bull it will be to leave Formula 1, not to join a rival team.
He obviously indicated that he’s been here for a long time, he’s been here for a long time.
And when the Times ends, so does the Max F1 race.
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