New Aston Martin boss dodges £1bn Max Verstappen rumour question
Aston Martin address speculation about a reported £1bn bid to sign Max Verstappen.
New Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell dodged a question about rumours of a record-breaking £1bn swoop to sign Max Verstappen.
Last month, the Daily Mail claimed that Aston Martin were prepared to make Verstappen a remarkable offer to join the team.
The report suggested that the deal would be worth £1bn and give Verstappen a potential shareholding in the company.
Following the speculation, Aston Martin denied any interest in Verstappen.
His future will continue to remain a hot topic, particularly if Red Bull underperform on track in 2025.
Cowell, who has replaced Mike Krack as Aston Martin team boss ahead of the new season, was asked about the Verstappen speculation ahead of F1’s inaugural launch event in London.
Cowell completely ignored any talk of Verstappen, pointing out that Aston Martin are “really lucky” to have Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso “on long-term contracts”.
“We’re really lucky. We’ve got Lance and Fernando. Great experience and they’re on long term contracts,” Cowell told media including Crash.net.
“The key work for this team is to create a fast race car. We didn’t create that for them last year and they get a lot of media pressure because of that.
“The pressure should come in our direction. We’ve got the job to create a fast race car and I am absolutely certain they will both deliver.”
Why Aston Martin could sign Verstappen
While Verstappen has a contract at Red Bull until the end of 2028, his future is entirely linked to their on-track performance.
Red Bull slipped back to being the third-fastest team in the second half of last year despite Verstappen winning his fourth consecutive drivers’ title.
Another dip in form from Red Bull could make Verstappen available to Aston Martin.
Aston Martin could comfortably afford to sign Verstappen as they’re backed by billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
They’ve recently signed Adrian Newey as their managing technical partner, spearheading the team’s design department from next month ahead of the new rules in 2026.
Aston Martin will be powered by Honda in 2026 having worked with Red Bull previously,
Verstappen might wait until 2026 to see which team outside of Red Bull has the best car before deciding on his future.
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