Report – Max Verstappen already in talks with Aston Martin

That is the claim of Mark Hughes, the respected F1 reporter, who believes a switch to Aston Martin is “the obvious next step” for Verstappen.

Despite being under contract until the end of the F1 2028 season, Verstappen has been frequently linked with a move away from Red Bull over the last 12 months in light of the team’s on-track decline and the internal tensions between his father Jos, and team principal Christian Horner.

Verstappen managed to secure a fourth World Championship in F1 2024, seeing off the threat of McLaren driver Lando Norris to cement his place alongside the greatest drivers in the sport’s history.

However, the Dutchman suffered his longest barren run in four years last season, going 10 races without a win between June and November.

It has been speculated that a repeat in 2025 could prompt Verstappen to force an exit from Red Bull.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, made no secret of his desire to sign Verstappen before signing teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement for F1 2025.

With the length of Antonelli’s contract unspecified, and team-mate George Russell’s current deal set to expire at the end of 2025, Mercedes is widely expected to renew their interest in Verstappen this year ahead of the major F1 2026 rule changes, for which the team’s preparations are believed to be advanced.

Aston Martin has also emerged as a potential destination for Verstappen following the signing of F1 design guru Adrian Newey from Red Bull last year.

The Silverstone-based team will also enter a technical partnership with Honda, Red Bull’s current engine supplier, from F1 2026.

Appearing on The Race podcast, Hughes claimed that a potential Aston Martin move for Verstappen makes “perfect sense” given the ambition of team owner Lawrence Stroll.

And he believes negotiations between the two parties are already underway with a deal on the cards in the near future.

He said: “The idea of Max to Aston, I think, is very real.

“And if what we’re hearing on the grapevine is true, those negotiations are already ongoing.

“So even before we started hearing those rumors from within the paddock, and not just from people speculating on it from the outside, it did make perfect sense.

“Max has been at Red Bull for a decade; it’s a new formula; new engine partner; Adrian Newey’s gone; Max has won multiple titles and has already said only the first one really matters to him, the rest have just been a nice indulgence.

“So he’s clearly ready for a new challenge at just the time Lawrence Stroll has brought this incredible array of talents and facilities together – and has taken Honda, with whom Verstappen has a great relationship already, with them.

“It’s the obvious next step for both parties, so I’d put quite a lot of weight behind the rumors.”

A newspaper report earlier this month claimed that Aston Martin has been attempting to woo potential sponsors by claiming that Verstappen will join the team in the near future.

The claims were firmly rejected by the team, who when approached by PlanetF1.com said: “An Aston Martin Aramco spokesperson categorically denied the story.”

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s camp reportedly responded to the report by commenting: “That’s nice.”

PlanetF1.com understands that both of Aston Martin’s current race drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, are under contract for at least the next two seasons.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix, Horner confirmed that Verstappen’s contract contains a “performance element” potentially allowing him to leave Red Bull before 2028 if the team fails to provide a competitive car.

A subsequent report claimed that Verstappen will be free to trigger an exit clause if he is lower than third in the Drivers’ standings after a “significant” part of the F1 2025 season has been completed.

If true, this would mirror a clause widely reported to have been included in at least one of Verstappen’s previous Red Bull deals.

After Newey’s presentation at the team’s factory last September, then-Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack claimed that the door “is always open, for everything” for Verstappen.

Verstappen and Newey previously worked with Aston Martin during the British brand’s sponsorship of Red Bull between 2016 and 2020, with the latter leading the development of the Valkyrie hypercar project.

Responding to Krack’s comments at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen refused to rule out a move to Silverstone – and admitted that Newey’s switch had made Aston Martin a more attractive option for his own future.

He said: “I have other worries at the moment that I’m paying a lot of attention to, that I’m working on.

“So that is something maybe for the future that I think about, but not now.

“I have other worries at the moment that I am busy with and I try to fix and work on them with the team that I’m driving with – that’s where our focus goes.

“Adrian and I, have a very good understanding. I sent him a message also after the news came out even though, of course, I knew that it was coming.

“I’m happy for him, it’s a new challenge.

“I always said I would have loved him to stay [at Red Bull], but at some point, you can’t overturn these things so then you’re just excited for people seeking new challenges.

“I also know that Lawrence, of course, is pushing flat out to make it a success with Aston Martin, so it’s quite understandable that he wants to have Adrian on his side.”

Asked whether Newey’s presence would make a team more attractive to him, Verstappen added: “I don’t know. I’ve worked with him so I know how he is as a person and also what he can do.

“I think everyone would like to work with Adrian in their career, so potentially.”

Verstappen’s comments came just weeks after Robert Doornbos, the former Red Bull driver turned Dutch F1 pundit, claimed that Aston Martin “will do everything to sway him, sparing no expense.”

Doornbos went on to add that Aston Martin had already made “advances” to Verstappen.

However, he aired his personal belief that Verstappen is still more likely to join Mercedes for F1 2026, claiming that the relationship between team and driver “remains strong.”