Max Verstappen quizzed on potential Alonso partnership amid £1bn Aston Martin rumours

A mutual respect exists between Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen remained coy when quizzed on potentially becoming Fernando Alonso’s F1 team-mate, remarking that “it’s very difficult to say what will happen” in the future.
It comes after a respected F1 reporter claimed that negotiations to take Verstappen to Aston Martin are “ongoing.”
Max Verstappen asked about potential Fernando Alonso link up
Despite being under contract with Red Bull until the end of the F1 2028 season, Verstappen has been persistently linked with a move away from the team over the last 12 months.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, has made no secret of his desire to sign Verstappen in the future, with Aston Martin emerging as a serious alternative following the signing of F1 design guru Adrian Newey from Red Bull last year.
Aston Martin will also enter a technical partnership with Honda, Red Bull’s current engine suppliers who have powered Verstappen to all four of his World Championship titles to date, from next season.
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A newspaper report claimed last month that Aston Martin have been attempting to woo potential sponsors by claiming that Verstappen will join the team in the near future.
The claims were firmly denied by the team, who issued the following statement to PlanetF1.com: “An Aston Martin Aramco spokesperson categorically denied the story.”
Verstappen’s camp, meanwhile, reportedly responded to the report with the comment: “That’s nice.”
PlanetF1.com understands that both of Aston Martin’s current race drivers, Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll, are under contract for at least the next two seasons.
Earlier this week, however, the esteemed F1 journalist Mark Hughes claimed that negotiations to take Verstappen to Aston Martin are underway, describing a deal as a “very real possibility” and “the obvious next step for both parties.”
Verstappen is known to have a healthy relationship with two-time World Champion Alonso, revealing last year that the pair have discussed competing together in the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours race.
And in a recent interview with Spanish publication Marca, Verstappen was asked if he could see himself being the team-mate to Alonso or fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz in the future.
He replied: “In the future, it’s very difficult to say what will happen. I’m very happy to have been able to race with Fernando and Carlos.”
Verstappen, who claimed his first F1 victory at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, went on to praise the impact of Alonso and Sainz on Formula 1, with the F1 2025 season marking the first of Alonso’s consecutive title triumphs with Renault (now Alpine).
He added: “It’s great.
“Of course, with Fernando winning the championships, I think he’s already made a big push, and then of course it continues with Carlos as well. It’s fantastic, of course.
“In Spain, motorsport and racing in general is very important. They are very passionate.
“I always love coming to Spain. For me, it’s a country with a lot of memories, I enjoy it very much.
“Seeing Fernando and Carlos do well is fantastic. I think it also motivates a lot of young people who want to do the same.”
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Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed that Verstappen’s contract contains a “performance element” allowing the World Champion to leave before 2028 if the team fail to provide a competitive car.
It has been speculated that Verstappen will be free to trigger an exit clause if he is lower than third in the Drivers’ Championship after a “significant” part of the F1 2025 season has been completed.
If true, this would mirror a clause widely reported to have been included in at least one of Verstappen’s previous Red Bull deals.
Following the team’s presentation of Newey last September, then-Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack revealed that the door “is always open” for Verstappen to join too.
Verstappen responded by commenting at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that a move to Aston Martin is “something maybe for the future that I think about, but not now.”
And he hinted that the signing of Newey had made Aston Martin a more attractive option for his own F1 future, adding: “I’ve worked with him, so I know how he is as a person and also what he can do.
“I think everyone would like to work with Adrian in their career, so potentially.”
Verstappen’s comments in Baku came just weeks after Robert Doornbos, the former Red Bull driver turned Dutch F1 pundit, claimed that Aston Martin “will do everything to sway him, sparing no expense” having already made “advances” to Verstappen.
However, he aired his personal belief that Verstappen is still more likely to join Mercedes for F1 2026, claiming that the relationship between team and driver “remains strong.”
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