Christian Horner insists renewed speculation that Max Verstappen could quit Red Bull later this year is nothing more than noise. Aston Martin failed to rule out the latest paddock rumour – one claiming the Silverstone-based squad is readying a £225m three-year contract offer.
In a statement the team said: “It’s normal for the media to speculate on the driver market, but we have a fantastic driver line-up that we are committed to and who are under contract for 2026 and beyond. Our focus is on delivering for Lance and Fernando by giving them a more consistent and competitive car. When we do, they are both capable of delivering great results.”
And team principal Andy Cowell was well drilled on that party line as he dodged questions on the subject on Friday. He said: “We’re incredibly fortunate that we’ve got two experienced drivers signed for the next two years and that means I can just focus on trying to help improve the business and the art of making a fast race car.”
And when pushed on the subject, the only thing he would add – with a wry smile – was: “I am saying that my head’s full of improving the company so that we can make a fast race car for Lance [Stroll] and Fernando [Alonso].”
But Horner says he is sure that Verstappen will “absolutely” still be driving for Red Bull in 2026 despite that record-breaking deal said to be on the table from Aston Martin.
He said: “There’s been a lot of noise outside of the team. Max reaffirmed his commitment yesterday. We are focused on making the car go faster. Max is a part of that, he’s a committed member of the team. The rest is all speculation.”
Aston Martin have invested heavily in their future and harbour ambitions to become one of the top teams on the grid. Billionaire majority owner Lawrence Stroll also has the backing of Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco, the title sponsor of the team.
Formula 1 fans can watch every practice, qualifying and race live with Sky’s new Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in a new deal that saves £192.
As well as Sky Sports access, this includes more than 100 TV channels and free subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery+.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) already owns one-fifth of Aston Martin Lagonda and is keen to increase its investment in F1 further. Putting more cash into Aston Martin is the logical next step on that front and their funds would likely be available to help them afford such a monster salary for Verstappen.
The team is struggling this season but the focus is on 2026 and beyond with Aston Martin desperate to start the sport’s new era on the front foot. To that end, Cowell has already confirmed that Adrian Newey, the celebrated designer who started work with the team last month, is entirely focused on their next car rather than helping to develop their current machine
He said: “One hundred percent of Adrian’s designing time is on 2026. He joined in March, so there was a period of him getting up to speed with the regulations and up to speed with the concept work we were doing in the preceding couple of months.
“There is a lot of work there, and Adrian has just been focused on that, but there is value in Adrian understanding the tools we’ve got, the fidelity of those tools and the precision with which they predict what is going to happen on the race-track rather than any direct performance aspect for the 2025 car.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
