Aston Martin's bold bid to poach Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has yet again proven he is the best driver in Formula One – winning his fourth World Championship title in as many years. However, his 2024 season was far from perfect.

We still saw a drop in form, tensions between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner, and Chief Technology Officer Adrian Newey leaving the team. All of these factors have cast some doubt over the future of Red Bull's star driver.

With tensions raised in the Verstappen camp, Aston Martin and Mercedes have reportedly been sniffing around at the possibility of bringing the four-time world champion to their teams.

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However, it seems as though Aston Martin has put together a master plan to bring Verstappen in, and former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos believes Aston Martin "will do everything" to get "The best of the best" in F1, PlanetF1 reports.

Aston Martin's stroke of genius started when they partnered with Honda for F1 2026, making the star-studded appointments of former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell and ex-Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile.

The arrivals of Cardile and Cowell substantially increase the likelihood of Adrian Newey joining the Aston Martin team. Newey is the most successful man in F1, with more than 200 race wins, and the majority have come with Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

PlanetF1 reports that Newey could earn $100 million (£79 million/€92 million) over three years at Aston Martin, with team owner Lawrence Stroll aiming to create the most formidable team in the sport.

The combination of Honda and Newey, with whom Verstappen has achieved all of his success in F1, mixed with the current toxic climate at Red Bull, is likely to hold a strong appeal for the Dutch driver.

Despite the strong incentives to join Aston Martin, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff wants to bring Verstappen in as early as 2025, according to the Express website, with Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari at the end of the year.

Mercedes' open seat looks set to be taken by their driver Kimi Antonelli, who will make his Formula 1 debut in 2025. However, Verstappen could likely join Mercedes in 2026.

It's no doubt that Mercedes are the stronger favourites to land Verstappen based on their recent history at the top of Formula 1. Still, the lure of forming the perfect team for Verstappen at Aston Martin may be too good to turn down.

As far as Christian Horner is concerned, he won't be going anywhere. Speaking to media following Verstappen's fourth world title win, he said he expected Verstappen would make a decision that set himself up to win more titles.

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"I think that he's the best driver in the world by a margin, and I think that he's comfortable in the team. He has a great deal of trust in the people around him, and we know that we've got to give him a good car to keep him achieving the kind of results that his talent warrants," Horner said, as GP Blog reported.