Aston Martin receive Max Verstappen blow with team ‘wishlist’ revealed – report

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Cold water has been poured on the speculation linking Max Verstappen to Aston Martin, a team not on his ‘wishlist’, though another Red Bull rival remain in the frame.

Three-time World Champion Max Verstappen – who looks set to claim a fourth consecutive title in Red Bull colours in F1 2024 – is under contract with the team through until the end of 2028, yet that has not stopped intense speculation over an impeding departure from the team.

Aston Martin not on Max Verstappen ‘wishlist’, but Mercedes…

A report from respected Italian publication Autosprint – claiming that departing Red Bull F1 design guru Adrian Newey will make his way to Aston Martin – was followed by another major claim that Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll was also in talks with Verstappen to lure him up the road to Silverstone with an eye towards 2026.

However, a fresh report has now emerged in which German outlet F1-Insider.com shot down the idea that Verstappen could be interested in swapping Red Bull for Aston Martin come F1 2026, when the new generation of cars and power units come into effect.

But, while joining Aston Martin is apparently not on the ‘wishlist’ of Verstappen, that does not mean his position at Red Bull is set in stone, as the publication claims a 2026 switch to Mercedes remains of interest.

They claim a ‘confidential, open and regular dialogue’ is active between the Verstappen camp, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius, with a continuation of Mercedes’ performance resurgence – should Red Bull’s form also continue to drop – ‘certain’ to trigger a Verstappen to Mercedes move.

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Red Bull has dominated much of the F1 ground effect era, but after starting F1 2024 with four wins from five faces, Verstappen has claimed only three more since with McLaren and Mercedes making their mark. Mercedes went into the summer break with three wins from their last four outings.

Verstappen, though, retains a healthy lead of 78 points over McLaren’s Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship and has urged his Red Bull team to “fight back” after the summer break, starting with his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix.

In reference to McLaren, Verstappen told media including PlanetF1.com: “I think if you look at the last five, six races, they for sure have been the best. Quite clear.

“That’s fine. Fair play to them. I think they have done a great job.

“From our side, we have a bit of work to do, a few things also to analyse over the break. From race one all the way to here, what we have done.

“And then try to fight back from Zandvoort, see if we can actually improve the situation, try to turn it around, try to be more competitive.

“I think the battle is in a way still quite tight, so when you make small mistakes it definitely can swing quite quickly.

“We have to try to use that to our advantage as well, because it’s so difficult at the moment, but we’ll see.

“There are so many races left and so many things that can happen.

“You can have the best possible preparation into every single weekend, but even then things can catch you by surprise. So you just have to remain focused, calm and try to improve.”

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