Formula 1
Aston Martin on Max Verstappen F1 rumors: ‘He can see we’re determined’
Aston Martin team boss Andy Cowell agrees that the rumors linking Max Verstappen to his team earlier this year were “flattering”, but the focus is on having a competitive car
Ronald Vording
Edited: Oct 14, 2025, 10:19 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
Before Christian Horner’s Red Bull exit, Max Verstappen’s future was one of the main talking points in the Formula 1 paddock.
Amid Red Bull’s early-season struggles, the performance clauses in the Dutchman’s contract came under scrutiny. Verstappen ultimately couldn’t activate them, since he was in the top three of the drivers’ championship at the beginning of the summer break.
The reigning world champion made clear in Hungary that he would stay with Red Bull for 2026 regardless of those clauses. Those words ended all speculation, which had mainly focused on Mercedes. George Russell publicly mentioned talks between Toto Wolff and the Verstappen camp, with the Mercedes boss replying it was “completely normal” for any team principal to explore where the future of a four-time world champion lies.
But Mercedes wasn’t the only team linked to Verstappen – Aston Martin also received media attention. Reports about a ‘one-billion offer’ proved overly optimistic, but Fernando Alonso still called it flattering that Verstappen’s name was even associated with the Lawrence Stroll-owned outfit.
Team principal Andy Cowell shared that sentiment, as he told Motorsport.com: “Ever since Lawrence bought the team, his words have been backed up with action. When you see the campus, when you see the investment he's got inside the campus, when you see his approach on recruiting people like Adrian [Newey], he's determined. At which point, the whole paddock can see that there's a determination to go from a team that was about survival to a team that is here to win.”
Andy Cowell, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Like Alonso, Cowell sees the Verstappen rumors as a sign of the long-term potential that people might associate with Aston Martin — with ‘managing technical partner’ Newey onboard and Honda as the upcoming engine provider.
“Max showing media interest – I don't know what the right phrase is, but Max showing media interest is flattering,” Cowell added. “In his opinion, he can see that this is a team that's determined and that is taking the right steps.”
Wolff famously said that every team principal in Formula 1 would “do a handstand” to sign Verstappen, but Cowell laughed when asked about those remarks: “I'm not very good at handstands! Even in a swimming pool, I struggle.”
Read Also:
On a more serious note, he explained that Aston Martin’s main goal was to build a car so competitive that the team becomes a natural destination for all top drivers in F1.
“We are really fortunate that we've got Lance and Fernando, who've got great experience, carrying across through to at least the end of 2026. That means we've got drivers that we can just chat to openly about next year. When I chat to Adrian and when I chat to all the engineers, what we're determined to do is to come up with a really fast race car. And then we want every single driver with a superlicence to want to drive our car.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Here’s what happens to all those Pirelli Pole Position awards
Next article Who should partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine for F1 2026?
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Ronald Vording
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
More from
Fernando Alonso
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Fernando Alonso set for Dakar Rally comeback with Aston Martin
Dakar
Dakar
Fernando Alonso set for Dakar Rally comeback with Aston Martin
More from
Aston Martin Racing
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
“Even faster than Ferrari” – Fernando Alonso grabs Aston Martin’s best result of F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
“Even faster than Ferrari” – Fernando Alonso grabs Aston Martin’s best result of F1 2026
Latest news
Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 8 h
Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
10 h
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 10 h
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
10 h
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe