Verstappen to Aston Martin might make a lot of sense but when?

That means either Fernando Alonso or the owner's son, Lance Stroll, would get the boot from Aston Martin. No matter who you are, if you had to choose one of the two for a three-year deal from next year as 27-year-old Verstappen's teammate, everyone would pick 43-year-old Alonso over 26-year-old Stroll. No contest there.

Signing Verstappen and not keeping Alonso would not go down in Formula 1 as a smart move by Aston Martin. Nepotism of the like would be disastrous PR on all levels for the iconic British brand. Max and Fernando are another story. But seriously, will it happen in 2026?

How smart would that be from a Verstappen perspective? Not at all clever. His deal with Red Bull runs until the end of 2028, and no one knows how things will pan out in 2026 when the slate is wiped, and from there, a pecking order will emerge.

Most likely the big three or four teams will be up there; Aston Martin should be there thanks to their no-expenses-spared project with Adrian Newey ensconced at the Silverstone HQ along with former Bulls Dan Fallows and Andrew Alessi." Hence the rumour, gossip, speculation. call it as you wish.

The next piece to making AMR a super team is Verstappen, who may be swayed by all the championship-winning, familiar faces of the abovementioned and the others from Red Bull who are likely to pop up in green team kit rather than blue in seasons ahead.

But they better get whatever car they have to run better than any of the AMRs they have conjured in recent seasons. Apart from finding their way briefly with a decent package in early 2023, which Fernando Alonso delighted us with. Lance Stroll did not, alas.

However, they went backwards thereafter; the more money and winglets they threw at the car, the slower it got until they reverted to the original early season spec, and the Spaniard put it on the podium again.

Newey is now at his drawing board at Aston Martin, supposedly focused only on the all-new 2026 F1 design and not this year's car., prompting Johnny Herbert to weigh in on speculation that Canadian billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll is willing to dig deep to lure Verstappen to the team. It's an obvious move by a very ambitious man.

Former F1 driver turned pundit Herbert shared his thoughts on the Aston Martin saga: "It will be all about the package. Max knows very much how the inner sanctum works at Red Bull. But there is a change now because the relationship that Red Bull has had with Honda, which has been very positive, has ended.

"From 2026, it’s a different scenario with Ford. There are rumours that it's been tougher than they ever expected, and it hasn't been as positive as they were expecting," explained Herbert, referring to an interview by RBR team boss Christian Horner.

Herbert continued: "That makes Max's decision much easier when you know that it's not going quite to plan with the power unit itself, and then you know that the power unit that you were successful with is going to be at the Aston Martin as well along with Adrian Newey.

"It makes total sense. Max is no fool. Max is going to want to place himself in the best place that will give him that chance of winning races in a world championship.

"If all those elements aren't working where he's at the present time, as I've heard on the Ford front, and an opportunity came at Aston Martin, I would be shocked if Max wouldn't bite and go for it. Because he knows very well that potentially, with Adrian and with the Honda, Aston Martin will be the place to be," reckoned Herbert.

No doubt escape clauses exist in Verstappen's contract (extended in 2022) with Red Bull should things go pear-shaped this season or the next, until the end of 2028. At that point, Max will be 31, at the very pinnacle of his game, with a good read of the Formula 1 hierarchy to pick and choose.

Herbert added, "Would you give up the place to be just to stay at something that's been good to you over the last couple of years? Racing drivers don't work like that. Max doesn't work like that. Max is there to win. And as he said over this year, you know, it's all about winning. That’s exactly what he wants to do.

"Christian has said Max is not going anywhere. I know he's got the contract until 2028, but again, contracts don't mean anything if performance is not there. Champions who I've known have always had a performance clause," Herbert pointed out. Time will tell if and when Verstappen will trigger it.