F1 Rumor: Aston Martin prepared to pay Verstappen $1.2 billion (3rd Update)

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has told Max Verstappen to accept an offer of “a billion” to join Aston Martin, should recent reports be accurate.

Steiner is adamant Verstappen should accept a move of that value even if it means being at the back of the grid. However, Verstappen said he is not in F1 for the money. He just loves schooling the other drivers.

“A billion is a big number,” Steiner told GPblog. “Even if Max finishes last, he should go for $1.2 billion.

“Some of them [teams] cannot afford him, obviously, Aston Martin can afford the $1.2 Billion.

“It’s a little bit putting it high because, that would set the record, which will never be broken again. That’s a bit fictional, but I’m sure Aston Martin will pay a good amount of money for Verstappen.”

“I don’t think Fernando will go, and I don’t think they replace Lance,” added Steiner. “It’s like maybe 2027. But again, there is no guarantee for Max that Aston Martin will be good.”

Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, respected journalist Mark Hughes believes the rumors of Max Verstappen to Aston Martin are real, despite denials from Aston Martin. Perhaps they were denying the $1.2 billion over five years part of the rumor.

“Not sure about the price tag, it sounds like one of those made-up newspaper headlines where they sit around and decide how much it should be and then decide that’s what it is,” Hughes said in response to a listener question.

“The idea of Max Verstappen to Aston I think is very real and if what we’re hearing on the grapevine is true, those negotiations are ongoing. So even before we started hearing these rumors from within the paddock and not just from people speculating on it from the outside, it did make perfect sense.

“Max has been at Red Bull for a decade, it’s a new formula, a new engine partner, Adrian Newey has gone. Max has won multiple world titles and said that only the first one really matters to him and the rest have been a nice indulgence.

“So he’s clearly ready for a new challenge just the time that Lawrence Stroll has brought this incredible array of talents and facilities together and has taken Honda with whom Verstappen and has a great relationship already, with them.

“It’s the obvious next step for both parties I’d say, so yes, I’d put quite a lot of weight behind the rumors.”

The rumor went on to say that Verstappen would also be offered a part ownership in the team in addition to a record-shattering annual salary of $240 million for 5 years = $1.2 billion.

While F1 operates under financial regulations that include a cost cap, key personnel are excluded from that figure.

The deal would be the richest in sporting history, surpassing Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad deal which is worth $224m per year and Cristiano Ronaldo’s $215m per year deal with Al Nassr.

And with Red Bull moving from Honda power units to Ford from 2026 under the new technical regulations, while Aston Martin will move from Mercedes to Honda, Verstappen could choose to stay with what he knows and jump ship to reunite with Newey and Honda.

(GMM) Aston Martin has denied rumors that owner Lawrence Stroll is prepared to spend an eye-watering $1.2 billion to woo Max Verstappen to the team.

A source told Britain’s Daily Mail that team managing director Jefferson Slack “has been going around saying Max will be joining Aston Martin”.

A deal would reunite quadruple world champion Verstappen with Adrian Newey, who is starting work at the team in March. Over the winter, Aston Martin replaced team boss Mike Krack with renowned former Mercedes engineer Andy Cowell.

When asked about the Verstappen-to-Aston Martin rumors, a team spokesman “categorically denies” the report.

Verstappen’s management also acknowledged the reports but offered no comment.

Related Rumor:  Verstappen eyeing Aston Martin amid Newey signing

Despite Stroll’s huge investments in the Silverstone-based team, Aston Martin struggled to develop its 2024 car within the season. “We certainly won the world championship for the most updates,” Cowell said, “but they did not produce improvements in lap times”.

27-year-old Verstappen’s future beyond 2025 is unclear, but he seems excited by Red Bull signing up iconic German football manager Jurgen Klopp to head the brand’s soccer programs.

“I think the two of them have a lot to say to each other and a lot of questions for each other,” Red Bull’s F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko told Sport1.

“What they both certainly have in common is that neither of them lets themselves be manipulated and is known and popular for clear and direct words. We are now trying to organize the meeting as soon as possible,” he added.

“Max is a big football fan and he asked me to invite him (Klopp) to a race. One of Max’s best friends is Virgil van Dijk, Holland’s national team captain and for many years one of Jurgen’s top performers during his time at Liverpool FC,” said Marko.

“That’s the good thing about Red Bull – that our broad sports program at the highest level enables us to create synergies and bring the protagonists together.”

Meanwhile, Verstappen denied that because he is nearing his full allocation of super license penalty points, he might race more cautiously in 2025.

“I won’t change my driving style because of that,” the Dutchman told the Swiss newspaper Blick.

“I already know when I go too far, like in Abu Dhabi when I attacked (Oscar) Piastri at the start. I had no problem apologizing to him after that.”