Formula 1: Surprise Fernando Alonso replacement candidate emerges

There has been plenty of speculation about what legendary engineer Adrian Newey's Formula 1 future holds, even before it was confirmed in May that he will be leaving Red Bull once the 2024 season concludes, bringing an end to a run that began nearly two decades ago.

Several teams have been linked to the 65-year-old Briton, who, for what it's worth, has not yet been willing to commit to remaining in Formula 1 at all.

However, those links have been loosely based on nothing more than rumors, most notably that which had him joining Ferrari and beginning work on the 2025 car as soon as he was allowed to.

Now it has emerged that Newey has reportedly signed a deal with Aston Martin, and that deal, a four-year deal worth roughly $400 million, is expected to be announced in September.

Of course, until anything is confirmed, take it with a grain of salt, but this particular development has significantly more backing than his links to other teams, including Ferrari, Williams, and Mercedes.

Aston Martin have been one of the teams pursuing Newey's services from the start, and team owner Lawrence Stroll has shown to be as ambitious as they come when it comes to building up the Formula 1 team he purchased in 2018 and used to bring Aston Martin back into the sport after more than six decades away in 2021.

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

Should the Silverstone outfit indeed secure Newey's services for 2025 and beyond, their focus would turn to another top individual currently employed by Red Bull.

Three-time reigning world champion and current championship leader Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull that extends through the 2028 season, but amid some of the preseason unrest involving allegations of misconduct against team principal Christian Horner, it was revealed that his contract may contain clauses which allow him to leave early.

One of those clauses is believed to pertain to key personnel leaving the team, and Newey was said to be included among those key personnel. So when his departure was confirmed, speculation about Verstappen's future ramped up, especially as it has become more and more obvious that his father, Jos, and Horner are not on the same page.

Verstappen has also been linked to Mercedes, with Toto Wolff having made it no secret that he would like the 26-year-old Dutchman to be the driver to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton alongside George Russell. But Mercedes appear to have a solid contingency plan in place, with junior driver Kimi Antonelli poised for a promotion sooner rather than later.

All signs point to Verstappen staying at Red Bull for another year in 2025, but there are further questions about his status for 2026, when a new era of Formula 1 is set to begin amid a sweeping new set of regulations.

Fernando Alonso recently signed a contract extension to remain with Aston Martin through the end of the 2026 season. But there is growing speculation that, given his age and some of his frustration with the team's step back in performance as of late, he could decide to retire early, rather than stick with the team through the introduction of the new regulations. He is set to be 45 years old by the time the 2026 season ends.

Alonso, a two-time world champion, replaced four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Stroll's first major signing upon Aston Martin's return to Formula 1, after the 2022 season. Could the team replace Alonso with another multi-time world champion less than two years from now?

The team's other driver is Lawrence's son Lance, and he too recently signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with the team through at least the 2026 season. There has also been speculation that he may decide to move into more of a management role within the team, but he basically has a contract with the team until he wants to stop.

This isn't to say that Alonso is for sure the driver Verstappen would replace. But given the speculation that he is being targeted for 2026, and both Aston Martin drivers are under contract through 2026, everything is clearly on the table.

It may also be worth mentioning that Aston Martin and Red Bull had an innovation partnership from 2016 to 2020, with Aston Martin even serving as the title sponsor of the Red Bull Formula 1 team from 2018 to 2020. Additionally, the partnership between the brands allowed Newey to collaborate with Aston Martin on a road car project.