Aston Martin has appeared to shut down Max Verstappen moving to the F1 team in 2026 amid a report that it is preparing a £226 million proposal to lure him.
I don’t think Max is leaving. But let’s be honest, even if he was it would not be to AMR. I know they have Newey, funding, great facilities and Honda on board. But it’s still way too big of a risk with their recent track record.
Or at least, he would stay at Red Bull for 2026 and scope out the field. If they are competitive then no reason to move. If Aston actually does come good he can go there in '27 after Alonso retires following his 2026 world championship win ^(don’t ^say ^anything ^just ^let ^me ^have ^that ^last ^one).
Feel like if Max was to leave at the end of this year, it would be to also to leave F1. Most sensible thing to do would be to wait see who’s good in 2026.
Take a year off on paternity leave, do some side projects in '26 like win Le Mans and the 24 hours of Spa, come back in '27 at the strongest team and get some more titles. Sounds like a plan.
Max could also sign a contract with Aston that includes a generous opt out if the new car sucks. And then just tell whatever team has a good car that he wants to sign there and make it happen. And that team would do what was necessary to make it happen.
