How Verstappen and Hamilton are racing to enter MotoGP

With Guenther Steiner arriving in MotoGP for 2026, Autosport understands Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are now vying to buy a team in a championship.

Last Friday, during the Catalan Grand Prix, the acquisition of Tech3 by the Ikon Capital consortium was made official, in a deal that will see Steiner, the former Haas F1 team principal, arrive as new CEO.

Having agreed to the terms of the sale, Herve Poncharal and engineer Guy Coulon, the French company’s co-founders, will hand over the reins next season.

After visiting KTM’s facilities, Steiner and Poncharal headed to Bormes-les-Mimosas, where the French team is based, to allow Steiner to get to know both the team and manufacturer as he becomes the first major figure to come from the Formula 1 paddock into MotoGP.

“I’m happy in the sense that I managed to beat the other rivals in this race,” Steiner said. “This discipline is growing and Liberty’s arrival is a very important addition. They want this to work and they are going to invest to make it happen, because they already have the experience of the expansion they pushed in F1. It’s a good time to invest here, and yes, there are others interested in doing so.”

Autosport understands that the two most prominent contenders seeking to acquire a MotoGP team are Hamilton and Verstappen.

The British driver’s interest goes back some time, given his passion for motorcycles – during his time at Mercedes he would close circuits to ride superbikes alongside Peter Bonnington, his race engineer, and other members of the paddock – and MotoGP’s expected business expansion in the wake of Liberty’s arrival.

His main rival in the race to enter MotoGP is Verstappen, even though Raymond Vermeulen, the Dutchman’s manager, chose to remain cautious when Autosport asked him about it on Sunday.

“Max is a big racing enthusiast in general. He is very involved in the GT3 division with his Verstappen.com team. It’s no secret that he is also interested in MotoGP, but thinking about buying a team is not a realistic goal at this moment. Everything would have to fall into place perfectly, and the chances of that happening imminently are minimal,” he said, a response that backs up what Autosport understands about exploratory approaches made by Verstappen’s camp to find a team.

Tech3 is already off the table for obvious reasons. Ruling out the five factory teams (Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, KTM and Aprilia), which are not for sale, four of the five independent outfits remain as potential candidates for sale.

A hypothetical deal with Pramac seems unlikely given the recent link that has been established between Yamaha and Paolo Campinoti’s structure.

Autosport is aware of conversations between Verstappen’s representatives and LCR, although inquiries are probably not limited to Lucio Cecchinello’s team. “Both Hamilton’s people and Verstappen’s people have contacted all the private teams to express interest in buying them,” admitted a director of one of the teams.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images

The caution shown by Verstappen’s representative when asked about buying a MotoGP team was identical to Hamilton’s attitude last year, when reports surfaced that he might have made a move for a MotoGP team.

“I’m interested in MotoGP’s potential growth, but I haven’t analysed it in depth yet. Although anything is possible. But yes, I’m certainly interested in being part of it. The Broncos [in NFL] were my first step in that direction,” Hamilton said last year when asked about entering MotoGP.

At that time, the focus was on a potential deal with Gresini. However, owner Nadia Padovani was not open to a deal with Hamilton’s representatives, nor with Andrew Fox, owner of Linfox – one of the largest transport companies in Australia, which also owns the Phillip Island circuit.

Faced with Padovani’s refusal, Hamilton’s representative, Mark Hynes, has continued to explore possible entry points into MotoGP. In recent months he has held talks with at least three of the ‘available’ private teams to propose a possible purchase.

Autosport understands that Hamilton is not alone in this new venture and has the support of TWG Motorsports, the group that owns the Cadillac team that will make its F1 debut next year.