The internal civil war between Red Bull’s owners – sparked by the allegations against Christian Horner at the start of the year – led to speculation that the Milton Keynes-based outfit could lose their star driver.
The departure of Adrian Newey struck fears that Verstappen could move on as well. Helmut Marko’s new deal denied an exit clause in Verstappen’s contract that would have allowed him to leave if the Austrian did.
When Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari, Mercedes targeted Verstappen as the ideal replacement.
Toto Wolff spoke highly of the 27-year-old and his intentions to bring him on board.
Verstappen’s camp had held talks with Wolff over a possible deal but nothing came to fruition. Mercedes would ultimately sign Kimi Antonelli to partner with George Russell for 2025.
It now seems likely that Verstappen will ‘never’ join Mercedes. But the Dutchman’s future with Red Bull remains uncertain heading into the new set of regulations in 2026.
Many people in the F1 paddock expected Verstappen to join Mercedes and cause another ‘earthquake’ in the driver market straight after Hamilton joined Ferrari.
But the four-time champion has stayed with Red Bull for 2025 alongside new teammate Liam Lawson. Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until 2028 but his long-term future with the team is in doubt.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit will part ways with Honda in 2026 and begin supplying their own power unit. Verstappen could leave Red Bull before 2026 if he is unsatisfied with their progress.
Despite growing speculation that the Dutchman could be on the move, Verstappen has repeatedly reiterated he is happy with Red Bull.
In a report by AutoRacer, Verstappen has ‘reportedly given assurances to Red Bull’ that he will stay with the team until at least the end of 2026.
This short-term agreement highlights the 27-year-old’s future is ‘far from concern’ and that he is considering his options.
AutoRacer claims that an ‘important insider’ believes speculation about Verstappen’s future at Red Bull will return ‘between next spring and next summer’.
With a move to Mercedes seemingly off the cards, Aston Martin have now emerged as the likely candidate to sign Verstappen.
Aston Martin are reportedly already in talks with Verstappen over a potential move.
Lawrence Stroll has made significant improvements to the Silverstone-based outfit off the track to build them into a title-winning team.
Stroll is doing everything he can to sign Verstappen – but with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll contracted until 2026, he will have an important decision to make about his driver pairing.
A move to Aston Martin would make sense given they will run Honda engines in 2026 – Verstappen has a great relationship with the Japanese engine supplier given the incredible he has given them with Red Bull.
Furthermore, Newey will spearhead the operation as he looks to give the Silverstone-based outfit the success he gave Red Bull.
Peter Windsor doesn’t think Verstappen will take Aston Martin’s offer but Newey could convince the four-time champion to make a move.
