Formula 1 News: Unrealistic to attract Verstappen now – Newey

(GMM) Aston Martin is “pipe-dreaming” if it thinks Max Verstappen would consider swapping his Red Bull for a green car in the “short term”.

That’s the view of Adrian Newey, who designed all of the quadruple world champion’s title-winning cars between 2021 and 2024.

This year, however, Red Bull is having a tougher time – notably now in the absence of 66-year-old Formula 1 design genius Newey, who made the switch to Aston Martin for 2025 and beyond.

The first ‘Newey’ Aston Martin will only race in 2026, and on his first visit to a paddock so far this season in Monaco, the Briton admitted he has “no idea” whether it will be a winner.

“If we’re to ever attract Max Verstappen, the first thing we have to do is make a fast car,” Newey admitted.

“He is clearly a phenomenal talent and a supreme competitor, but there’s no point in pipe-dreaming about having him in the short term.

“Max Verstappen takes things to a simple level, and in this particular case he will try to choose the team that he considers will have the fastest car.”

Speed aside, some think another factor of critical importance to 27-year-old Verstappen when it comes to choosing his team is the freedom to do as he pleases – like testing at the Nordschleife or skipping official ‘F1’ movie screenings.

Sport1 asked former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld at Monaco if the sport is increasingly seeing Verstappen as a “rebel”.

“Hard to say,” the 48-year-old smiled. “But you can tell – he doesn’t go with the flow. He believes in himself and questions things.

“The fact that he didn’t join in with Netflix because it was too fake for him speaks volumes. The important thing is that he stays grounded and continues to develop, but that’s exactly what he’s doing.”