Max Verstappen ‘would not hesitate’ to join rival F1 team in 2027 if Red Bull’s car fails next year

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The future of Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen will become the biggest talking point in the Formula 1 paddock if Laurent Mekies’ team don’t have a championship-challenging car in 2026.

For much of the 2025 campaign, Max Verstappen was keeping himself in title contention with a car that was inferior to the McLaren, before late update packages suddenly brought him back into the equation.

Considering he was 104 points behind Oscar Piastri at one point, to finish two points away from winning a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship shows the level he’s functioning at compared to his rivals on the grid.

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This makes Verstappen Red Bull’s most prized asset, but also the driver at the top of every team’s shortlist heading into 2027 and beyond.

Red Bull could already be planning for Verstappen’s exit, and there is one team on the grid that the Dutchman reportedly ‘would not hesitate’ to join should the opportunity arise.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen ‘would not hesitate’ to join Aston Martin and would be ‘delighted’ with Adrian Newey reunion

The Spanish outlet Grada3 has shared more details about Verstappen and potential interest from Aston Martin.

Verstappen’s contract contains exit clauses that could see him depart the team at the end of next season, even though his current deal runs until the end of 2028.

The report suggests that Verstappen ‘would be delighted to reunite with Adrian Newey and Honda’ at Aston Martin should Red Bull fail to live up to expectations.

On top of this, he ‘would not hesitate’ to race for the Silverstone-based team, putting immediate success over any potential patience when it comes to helping Red Bull improve.

Adrian Newey has taken over as team principal, but despite that, Lawrence Stroll would still guarantee his son, Lance, a seat on the grid alongside Verstappen if a deal were to happen.

This would mean Fernando Alonso moving on and would bring an end to his record-breaking Formula 1 career.

Many fans would love to see the two world champions racing side-by-side, but Verstappen is now said to be the ‘biggest threat’ to Alonso’s career coming to an end next year.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

What Max Verstappen has already said about Adrian Newey becoming Aston Martin team principal

Verstappen was asked about Newey’s change of role, via Autosport, when it was announced in November that he would be stepping into Andy Cowell’s previous position.

He said: “It’s probably something that you see in more teams, right? That someone more technical is taking on the role of team boss.

“And I guess Aston is going the same way. I mean, you have to ask them, of course, why they opted to do it. But that’s my logical explanation behind that.

“I’m happy to see that. I don’t know how much that will change in the involvement of the car for Adrian. But I’m sure he will do well.”

“I’ve never spoken to Adrian about it,” Verstappen replied when asked if he was surprised about his new position.

“It was never an option at Red Bull, of course, as well, so I don’t know what the ambition was or whatever – but I’m happy for him.

“He’s in a different team environment now, and I cannot look into the team, why or how or the reason why he got promoted. But I’m just sitting here and enjoying it.

“Happy for him, and I hope that the team will benefit from his knowledge at the end of the day.”

Aston Martin will be well aware of how powerful a combination of Newey, Verstappen and Honda can be.

Whether they’ll be in a position to combine the trio moving forward is another matter, but at this stage, it almost guarantees success.