Adrian Newey dismisses Max Verstappen move to Aston Martin: “He just wants the quickest car”. Adrian Newey has dismissed rumors of Max Verstappen joining Aston Martin in 2026.

Max Verstappen to Aston Martin? Not now
“There’s no point dreaming about Max Verstappen joining”: with these words, Adrian Newey effectively dismissed the arrival of the Dutch superstar at Aston Martin, at least in the short term. The goal for the Silverstone-based team is to become appealing in the eyes of the world champion: growing on all fronts—especially in terms of on-track competitiveness—will be the only way to recreate the successful Max Verstappen-Adrian Newey pairing that brought so much success to Red Bull.

But it will take years, and certainly Max Verstappen could not accept a leap into the unknown by joining a team that hasn’t even won a race yet. However, if Red Bull were to struggle under the new regulations in 2026, Super Max could potentially activate performance-related clauses tied to the car’s competitiveness to leave the Milton Keynes-based team early—his contract currently runs until 2028—and join a team that adapts better to the 2026 overhaul.

Adrian Newey’s words
So realistically, 2027 would be the first year Aston Martin could truly dream of landing Super Max. Adrian Newey knows this and reiterated that, for now, it’s a scenario not to consider: “He’s a phenomenal driver, but he’s also a very simple ‘beast’, and I mean that in the most flattering way. He just wants a fast car to show his talent. I suspect Max will always follow whoever he believes can build the quickest car.” – the former Red Bull car designer pointed out.

So for Formula 1 2026 season, Fernando Alonso will still be the team’s key figure: “Fernando, what a legend. One regret I have in the final years of my career is never having had the chance to work with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando. Now I have the opportunity to make up for that, at least in part.” – he concluded.