Aston Martin denies Verstappen offer rumour, but 2026 question marks remain

On Thursday, The Daily Mail published the rumour that Aston Martin is reportedly approaching sponsors with the intention of signing Max Verstappen on an astronomical £1 billion salary, spread over several years.

Although that amount was mentioned in capital letters, the interest itself should come as no surprise. It is no secret that both Aston Martin and Mercedes are still hoping for the Dutchman’s services at some stage of his career. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that the focus is fully on current drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, but told the Dutch press in Zandvoort that it doesn’t close the door on Verstappen.

“I still feel that our paths will cross one day,” Wolff said.

From an Aston Martin point of view, an eye on Verstappen is not surprising either. The Silverstone-based team has built a state-of-the-art campus at Silverstone, in which its new wind tunnel should play a crucial role.

The technical team has been reinforced with Enrico Cardile and, most importantly, Adrian Newey. Besides that, Honda has been signed as an engine supplier from 2026 onwards. Because Aston Martin is the only team that Honda will supply its engines to, it will become a sort of factory team, as is the case now with Red Bull.

All these aspects are ingredients for success, although two pieces of the puzzle do not match them: both drivers. Lance Stroll is not championship material and Fernando Alonso will be 44 next year – when the new regulations come into effect – and 45 later that season. So it’s not a line-up to build on in the really long term. Add to that the fact that Lawrence Stroll wants to pull out all the stops to make his Formula 1 project succeed, and it makes sense that he is willing to invest even more.

Verstappen himself has never concealed his respect for both Newey and Honda, but this week’s reports seem rather premature. Aston Martin firmly denied that any sponsors are being approached with a Verstappen and such a business case seems more of an ‘if, then’ scenario.

Red Bull has good hopes but must keep delivering

For now, sources within Red Bull Racing say that the team is confident it can keep Verstappen at least until the end of 2026. The much-discussed Helmut Marko clause was in theory an easy way out, and therefore a treat from Red Bull’s point of view, but a so-called ‘side letter’ was added to it last year. It reinforced Marko’s position within the team after the turmoil and should give Red Bull a little more confidence not to lose Verstappen easily.

That said, everything depends on competitive material. The contract, like all Formula 1 contracts, contains other clauses as well, which means Red Bull has to keep delivering. If the 2025 season does not go too badly for the Milton Keynes-based team (otherwise clauses might theoretically come into play earlier), the team is confident it can keep Verstappen on board.

The situation is potentially more open only at the end of 2026 – so towards 2027 – also depending on how the start of the new era with Red Bull’s own engine goes. That will be an interesting moment in the Formula 1 driver market anyway, as it seems to be wide open.

The contracts of Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and others expire then. Even Alonso has indicated that he is approaching 2026 as possibly his last season in Formula 1. The Spaniard is still hoping for a third world title and has pinned all those hopes on the new regulations. For the seasons after that, Aston Martin potentially has a free spot and a lot seems possible in the market.

2026 Formula 1 rules

Photo by: FIA

2026 key

The whole situation means that Verstappen is in a luxury position and has no shortage of interest, which should come as no surprise to a driver of his stature. Verstappen can wait and see who is competitive in 2026 and who is not. Heading into 2026, everything is a gamble – including staying with Red Bull – as no one can predict who will be competitive under the new set of regulations.

With both the engine and chassis regulations changing that season will be a step into the unknown for all teams. An additional factor is of course that Red Bull will no longer be able to rely on Honda, but will start making its own power units with Red Bull Powertrains-Ford.

These are all variables that Verstappen can theoretically wait for before making a longer-term decision. It marks the position he is in. On interest from other teams, Verstappen told Motorsport.com during an interview in Singapore: “Of course, I know it’s possible, but I’m not thinking about it so much at the moment.”

Noting that other teams seem to be keeping the door open as long as possible, Verstappen continued: “But I’m also like “if it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen. It’s not going to change my life.” It shows how relaxed Verstappen is about the whole situation, but also how important the 2026 rules will be.

The latter applies not only to the question of who will be competitive but also to how the regulations themselves turn out. Verstappen was rather critical of the 2026 plans during the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, revealing that he had to downshift on the Monza straight in the simulator and that the active aerodynamics ‘felt strange’ for the driver.

“I don’t think this is the direction Formula 1 should go in,” he said at the time. Afterwards, the FIA fine-tuned the plans and Verstappen said that he is “neutral” on them at the moment. Nonetheless, the 2026 regulations are key for future considerations. “That is something for me to judge in 2026 of course, whether it is still fun to drive,” Verstappen said during the interview in Singapore.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

It is widely known that the four-time world champion has ambitions outside Formula 1 as well, in other racing series. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is high on his wishlist. A crucial condition for any choice in Formula 1 is therefore that Verstappen still likes the sport, as Marko has indicated as well. This will be the first question mark in 2026, the matter of who will be competitive under the new regulations seems to be step two.

The sum of money mentioned in The Daily Mail article might seem attractive, but Verstappen doesn’t need to base his choices on money at all. Fun comes first. In that respect, 2026 promises to be a key year in multiple ways: firstly, whether Formula 1 is still what Verstappen wants it to be and, secondly, how the field will be shaken up.

With Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin he has no shortage of interest, with all those teams going to great lengths to get or keep him. Verstappen has the luxury of being able to wait and not having to gamble, which Aston Martin in its current state would still be, a gamble.