A new home for Verstappen arises: Is a move to Aston Martin on the cards?
General
- Ludo van Denderen
Max Verstappen left no doubt about it. If it had been up to him, Adrian Newey would never have left Red Bull Racing. It is now clear that the top designer will continue his long career at Aston Martin, where there is no shortage of ambitions and budget. With Newey joining the Silverstone-based squad, could that make Aston Martin an interesting destination for Verstappen?
Lawrence Stroll, the owner of the Aston Martin F1 team, has never made a secret of it. World titles in Formula 1 are the ultimate goal for him. Plenty of billionaires or fortune hunters in the sport have come and gone saying the exact same thing but never succeeded. The signs are there that, in Stroll's case, there is a real chance of achieving that tricky goal. This is already evident at the brand-new Silverstone factory
Aston Martin amid a metamorphosis
A stone's throw away from the circuit on which the British Grand Prix is held every year, a state-of-the-art factory has now sprung up, currently working hard to optimise all the new systems. As a result, not all staff can work on the further development of the current AMR24. A car which Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are currently struggling with. All that is calculated; the Aston Martin project is really for the longer term.
In 2025, the team hopes to be in a better position when, for example, it will be able to reap the benefits of using the new and state-of-the-art wind tunnel. To give an idea: Red Bull has to make do with a much inferior wind tunnel, and in today's Formula 1, such a thing is just the detail that makes all the difference.
Newey reunited with Fallows
Adrian Newey can also help Aston Martin take the next step. Everywhere Newey has worked, he has had success, and a lot of it. There is no doubt that his genius is going to help Aston Martin, especially if he can team up again with Dan Fallows, who previously worked for Red Bull.
New technical regulations will make their way into Formula 1 in 2026, and Newey has proven at Red Bull that he can quickly design the right car. This is also what Aston Martin is hoping for. Moreover, from '26, the team will have access to the Honda engine, currently seen as one of the strongest power units in F1. In short, Aston Martin's future in Formula 1 is extremely bright, at least on paper.
Is Verstappen and Aston Martin a match?
Now, just the right drivers. In that case, Aston Martin - like Mercedes - is no doubt keeping an eye on Max Verstappen's situation at Red Bull. Will he retain confidence in the Austrian team for '26, too? And if not, where does he want to continue his career? Verstappen's salary will not be a problem for Aston Martin, although money is never the driving force for the Dutchman. Verstappen wants to win prizes, and Aston Martin is currently preparing for a period of success in terms of personnel and facilities.
Aston Martin would suit Verstappen just fine from this perspective: Ambitions, chasing the top prizes and a team that, with Newey, will soon have someone in whom the Dutchman has enormous confidence. Perhaps the Brit could be just the person to convince Verstappen at some point to end a stint at Red Bull Racing as well, especially if the Milton Keynes-based team's sporting performance does not improve over the next 12 months.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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