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Rumors around Max Verstappen's future are nothing new these days as the driver continues to make headlines. His future at Red Bull is currently on a rocky slope right now with the driver's relationship with team boss Christian Horner hanging by a thread.
In all of this, Mercedes as a possible option has popped up in the minds of many. The German team is not in the best of shape, but an outfit that has won eight consecutive titles knows a thing or two about winning.
It was precisely at this point that the news of Max Verstappen being on the shortlist for Aston Martin or Aramco shocked everyone. According to reports, the Saudi firm is looking at buying the majority stake in the team as Lawrence Stroll looks at divesting from F1.
While the Canadian leaving his F1 dream would not come as a surprise, there's a bigger question at play in that rumor which was Max Verstappen being the primary target for that outfit. Stroll selling off his share makes sense but Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull to join Aramco/Aston Martin makes no sense whatsoever.
It goes against Max Verstappen's approach to racing
There's one thing that almost everyone forgets about Max Verstappen, and that is his approach to racing. He's not in the business of trying to do what Michael Schumacher did at Ferrari, i.e. build a team bit by bit until it starts winning.
He's made it as clear as he could in the last few years that he's enjoying this phase with Red Bull, where he can just come to a race weekend and know there is a high chance he wins.
Leaving Red Bull, and going to the Silverstone-based squad that has never even finished inside the top 4 in the championship is just something Max might not be too interested in doing.
Money is not a primary factor
One of the major swing votes in the eyes of many is the money that comes with joining a massively funded team that the Aramco or Aston Martin team would be when it takes over. For Max Verstappen, though, he's never come across as someone who was a bit of a mercenary and was trying to make the most money if he had the opportunity.
In fact, quite often he's made it clear that he would leave the sport if it becomes too much of a burden on him. He's already earned enough to last a lifetime and the contract with Red Bull is lucrative enough. If the driver is looking at options, maybe finances might not be the biggest priority.
To add to this, even competitors like Mercedes would have deep enough pockets to give him a decent jump and move away from Red Bull.
The lack of winning pedigree is a major question mark
Arguably the biggest question facing Aston Martin is whether the team will be good enough to win. The outfit made an impressive jump in 2023 and won consecutive podiums. However, the growth did plateau for the team because, as the season progressed, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes overhauled the team.
Even in 2024, the team will have the fifth-fastest car on the grid. The team has yet to show that it can win in different circumstances or whether it can win in general.
It's hard to expect Max Verstappen to jump into an unproven entity and then try to win. He would want to see more, something that Aston Martin hasn't yet.
