A billion for Verstappen at Aston Martin? 'Even if he comes last, do it!'
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- Ludo van Denderen
Aston Martin would be willing to pay as much as a billion pounds for Max Verstappen, rumour has it. If the story is true, Guenther Steiner - Haas F1's former team principal - wonders aloud whether the reigning world champion would be wise to switch to the ambitious team.
For days, the media were full of rumours about Aston Martin's possible offer, after a report that was published Daily Mail. Steiner first of all doubts that so much money would actually be offered for a driver. "A billion is a big number. Even if Max finishes last, he should go for a billion," the Italian began to GPblog.
He then continued: "Some of them (teams) cannot afford him, obviously, Aston Martin can afford him. The Billion. It's a little bit putting it high because, that would set the record, which will never be broken again. That's a bit fictional, but I'm sure Aston Martin will pay a good amount of money for it."
Steiner does not expect Verstappen to join Aston Martin any time soon
Steiner does not expect Aston Martin to change its line-up before 2026. "I don't think Fernando [Alonso] will go, and I don't think they replace Lance [Stroll]. It's like maybe 2027. But again, there is no guarantee for Max that Aston Martin will be good."
Team owner Lawrence Stroll reportedly realised that son Lance would never become a Formula 1 world champion. But would he cast his son aside for Verstappen anyway? "No, Lawrence is for sure not stupid. You can call him everything else but stupid. But blood is thicker than water," Steiner concluded.
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