Adrian Newey reveals the ONE thing that will attract Verstappen to Aston Martin

Adrian Newey has revealed the one thing Aston Martin need to achieve in order to entice Max Verstappen to the Formula 1 team.

The design legend helped design all four of Verstappen's championship winning cars at Red Bull, including the dominant RB19.

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Largely regarded as one of the best F1 car designers of all-time, Newey left Red Bull after 18 years of association in 2024, and instead has joined Aston Martin, who themselves have ambitions of challenging for world championships in the future.

The Silverstone-based outfit have been linked with acquiring the services of Verstappen, as rumours grew during the early part of 2025 that the Dutchman was unhappy with his Red Bull team, although Aston Martin have consistently repeated that they are happy with their current driver lineup.

However, Newey has now opened up about the rumours, suggesting the plan is first to create a car that would entice the likes of Verstappen to the team, before actively pursuing the champion.

"Max is clearly a phenomenal talent, he’s a supreme competitor and part of that means that Max likes to break things down to a simple common equation," he told The Guardian.

"That is choosing a team that he believes will deliver the fastest car, so if we’re to ever attract Max, the first thing we have to do is make a fast car."

Could Verstappen leave Red Bull for Aston Martin?

In the spring, it was looking increasingly likely that Verstappen would leave Red Bull ahead of the 2026 season, with Red Bull starting the season off poorly and Helmut Marko admitting that the Dutchman's future was of 'great concern' to the team.

However, Verstappen has still managed to win two of the first eight races of the season, and is only 25 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, as he hunts for a record-equalling fifth consecutive world championship.

Marko also confirmed that there are performance-based exit clauses in Verstappen's contract, which is currently set to expire at the end of the 2028 season.

Mercedes and Aston Martin have been the two teams most closely linked to Verstappen's signature, but both have reiterated that they are currently happy with their respective driver lineups.

New regulations sweep into the sport in 2026, and the competitive order in F1 may see somewhat of a shake up. Verstappen will likely wait to see how the grid shapes up before making a decision on his long-term future.

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