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Last year, Red Bull lost key allies that were detrimental to Max Verstappen's reign over the F1 throne. Most of them joined the Aston Martin squad, while reports have circulated the paddock regarding the Dutchman being offered a $1 billion-plus contract by the English team. Subsequently, F1 journalist Mark Hughes has claimed the Aston Martin move was the next obvious step in Verstappen's F1 journey.
The 27-year-old won his fourth consecutive drivers' world title last year and has amassed a massive 63 race wins with Red Bull since his debut with the team in 2016. However, all of Verstappen's wins have come with Adrian Newey-designed cars, the design genius who has left Red Bull and will be joining Aston Martin this year.
Reports have been surfacing in the F1 sphere that Max Verstappen has been a billion-dollar-plus contract by Aston Martin. Moreover, Hughes reckons that moving to the Silverstone-based outfit would be the obvious step in Verstappen's career in light of the 2026 regulations reset (via The Race podcast):
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"So he's clearly ready for a new challenge just the time that Lawrence Stroll has brought this incredible array of talents and facilities together and has taken Honda with whom Verstappen and has a great relationship already, with them. It's the obvious next step for both parties I'd say so yes, I'd put quite a lot of weight behind the rumors," Hughes said (9:15 onwards).
Max Verstappen has a valid contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season. However, certain clauses could exempt both parties from fulfilling this responsibility.
Red Bull boss addresses possibility of Max Verstappen leaving the team
Last year, chaos had taken over Red Bull's HQ in Milton Keynes. Helmut Marko was on the verge of being fired but things soon calmed down. However, the RB20 had plummeted in performance and remained the third-best in terms of raw pace throughout the year.
Though Max Verstappen was able to win the drivers' title, Marko is aware of the extent that the Dutchman had to go to. The Austrian then revealed the need for the team to up their game to not risk losing their star driver (as quoted by Motorsportweek):
"We have to provide him with a car with which he is able to win under his own steam. It can be one to two tenths of a second slower than others, but unlike last year’s car, it has to be competitive throughout the season and on every track. If we don’t succeed, there is no reason for Max to stay with us. You have to be realistic about that."
The Austrian outfit is currently gearing up for the upcoming season and will reveal its 2025 livery at the grand F1 75 event in London on February 18.
