Will Verstappen be next to join Aston Martin’s F1 superteam?

The team has brought on board Andy Cowell who led development of Mercedes’ dominant hybrid F1 engine and is now CEO and team principal of Aston Martin’s F1 team.

It has also recruited Ferrari‘s former chassis and aerodynamics chief, Enrico Cardile, Red Bull’s previous head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows, and former Mercedes aerodynamicist Eric Blandin. Aston Martin has also secured a Honda engine deal from 2026, as well as F1’s superstar designer, Adrian Newey.

Significantly the latter two have been two critical pillars of Max Verstappen’s success at Red Bull. All four titles and 58 of his 63 F1 race wins have been in cars overseen by Newey and powered by Honda.

Look at it that way, and Verstappen moving to Aston Martin would be less of a new challenge and more of a homecoming. One that would undoubtedly be sweetened with a deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds. As with Newey’s contract, hefty win bonuses — and potentially equity in the team itself — could give Verstappen the potential to earn an eye-catching $1bn (£816m) — depending on performances and the length of the contract.

When asked about the prospect of a move last year, Verstappen carefully avoided ruling it out. “I have other worries at the moment that I’m paying a lot of attention to and working on,” he said. “So that is something maybe for the future that I think about, not now.

“I know that Lawrence is pushing flat out for it to be a success and I hope for them that it can be a success.”

Just as significantly, Marko also spoke of the team’s potential making it an obvious destination for his protege. “Max drives where he can win,” he told Austrian publication Kleine Zeitung last year. “Aston Martin has the most modern factory, the wind tunnel will be operational [in 2025] and Honda engines will be added to that. Everything fits. And if you look at history, it is clear: wherever Newey has gone, there has been an upward trend. I don’t know why it should be any different at Aston Martin.”

While he went on to say that Verstappen could still win at Red Bull and that success may take time at Aston Martin, the appeal for 2026 is clear, but it’s not just the draw of a well-resourced team that could tip the world champion into a transfer.

At some points this year, it looked as though Verstappen might be tempted to leave the team even earlier as a rift emerged between his father Jos and team principal Christian Horner after the latter was accused of sexual harassment — claims that have since been dismissed. Jos publicly called for Horner to be ousted at one point; the fact that he remains represents a clear clipping of the family’s wings.

Max Verstappen recently admitted to streaming site Viaplay that he discussed a move to Mercedes last year. “I don’t lie about the fact that we’ve sat together,” he said. “We had very constructive conversations, I think everyone has always been very honest and open with each other. But on the other hand, I am also very loyal to my own team, and I just feel at home there.”

Whether he’ll feel at home from 2026 is a different matter. New rules will require a completely fresh approach to car design, and there will also be an all-new generation of engines — with Red Bull building its own for the very first time, with the departure of Honda.

There are plenty who doubt that the power unit will match the performance of those from Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda, and there are also questions over the chassis given that Red Bull will be without the talismanic Newey.

Verstappen may well decide that this would be the ideal time to move. And if he makes that decision, it would be difficult for Red Bull to force him to see out his contract.