Formula 1: New landing spot emerges for Max Verstappen

Three-time reigning world champion and current championship leader Max Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull through the 2028 Formula 1 season, but there have been questions about whether or not he will remain with the team for the next four-plus seasons ever since the preseason allegations of misconduct were made against team principal Christian Horner.

Red Bull have lost several key personnel over the last few months, headlined by the departure of legendary engineer Adrian Newey. Newey set to leave the team with which he has worked for nearly two decades at the end of the 2024 season.

Verstappen's contract is said to include a clause that allows him to seek a new ride elsewhere should key personnel depart, which has led to ample speculation about his future. Additionally, it's no secret that his father, Jos, and Horner have been at odds throughout the year.

The 26-year-old Dutchman has primarily been linked to Mercedes as the replacement for the Ferrari-bound seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, with Toto Wolff eager to replace one generational talent with another.

But while it appears as though Verstappen is set to remain at Red Bull and Mercedes are poised to promote junior driver Kimi Antonelli to join George Russell next season, there are bigger questions that have emerged about the 2026 grid.

Newey has not yet signed with a new team, and up until now, everything that has been speculated about his decision has been strictly based on rumors, with the 65-year-old Briton having been linked to a number of teams. He has yet to formally commit to even remaining in Formula 1 at all.

However, a recent report emerged about Newey's future, indicating that he has already agreed to join Aston Martin next year and that an announcement of a four-year deal said to be worth roughly $400 million is expected to come in September.

While this should be taken with a grain of salt until more information comes to light, given how many other rumors have emerged about his future since the start of the 2024 season, this one seems to have a lot more substance behind it.

And Aston Martin reportedly aren't planning on stopping there.

Team owner Lawrence Stroll is among the most ambitious individuals in the sport, having purchased the Force India team in 2018 and rebranded them as Aston Martin ahead of the 2021 season to bring the iconic brand back to Formula 1 for the first time in more than six decades.

Though both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Lawrence's son, recently signed contract extensions to remain with Aston Martin through the 2026 season, the team are reportedly targeting Verstappen to reunite him with Newey for the year in which a new era of Formula 1 is slated to begin, due to the introduction of sweeping new regulations.

It is unknown which driver Verstappen would replace. Some rumors suggest that Alonso, who recently turned 43, could decide to retire a year early. As for Lance, he basically has a contract with his father's team until he wants to stop competing, but there have also been rumors that he could look at moving into a management role sooner rather than later, or perhaps even move to the World Endurance Championship instead.

Bottom line, if the team want Verstappen, and he wants them, there probably isn't much that will stand in their way of making room for him, even with both current Aston Martins drivers under contract for at least another two seasons. The prospect of pairing him with Newey certainly wouldn't appear to make that statement any less true.

Additionally, Aston Martin are planning a switch to Honda engines from Mercedes engines, while Red Bull are set to leave Honda for Ford. This move would allow Verstappen to remain with the manufacturer with which he has had immense success, to say the very least, over the past few seasons.

It may also be worth mentioning that Aston Martin served as the title sponsor of Red Bull from 2018 to 2020, and the innovation partnership between the two companies, which began in 2016, interestingly allowed Newey to collaborate with the brand on a road car project.

So it would not be the first instance of two of the most talented individuals in their respective Formula 1 roles working together in a deal involving the luxury car brand. This time, however, it would be with much higher stakes.