Aston Martin denies $1 billion Verstappen rumours

Jan.17 (GMM) Aston Martin has denied wild reports that owner Lawrence Stroll is prepared to spend an eye-watering $1 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 rumours, a team spokesman “categorically denies” the report.

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

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 organise 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 2024.

“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 apologising to him after that.”

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