Zak Brown snubs Aston Martin to name Max Verstappen’s next F1 team

McLaren CEO Zak Brown insisted that Max Verstappen has a better option than Aston Martin for the 2026 F1 season.

Zak Brown snubs Aston Martin to name Max Verstappen’s next F1 team

Max Verstappen, Zak Brown, and Lawrence Stroll (images via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen is undoubtedly the biggest name floating around in the F1 driver market. The four-time world champion remains under a contract with Red Bull Racing till 2028. However, this has not stopped rumors from circulating over his future. Now, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has hinted at Verstappen’s next destination in Formula 1.

Previously, the reigning world champion was rumored to be in talks with Aston Martin. There were even reports of a massive $1.2 billion contract offer, though this was refuted by the British team. The Silverstone-based squad wasn’t the only team interested in poaching the 27-year-old from Milton Keynes, with Mercedes also expressing its interest.

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Zak Brown was confident that Max Verstappen would likely leave Red Bull by the end of the 2025 season. He reckoned that the Dutch driver would join Mercedes next year. Brown acknowledged that Aston Martin was a viable option courtesy of aero genius Adrian Newey‘s switch to the British team. However, the McLaren boss insisted that just having Newey would not be enough to entice Verstappen.

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Oh I think he’ll (Max Verstappen) leave at the end of this year. Most likely to Merc. There’s been talk of Aston Martin, too, with Adrian Newey joining. But as great as Adrian is – and he’s the greatest ever – you need a whole team around you.

Zak Brown told The Telegraph

It must be noted that Zak Brown and McLaren were also interested in signing Max Verstappen. Reports emerged that Brown had contacted the Red Bull star’s management team over such a possibility. Though, talks did not go far, with the 53-year-old admitting that it was just a single phone call.

Zak Brown makes Toto Wolff connection for Max Verstappen

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has always lamented losing Verstappen to Red Bull in 2014. The Austrian billionaire failed to sign the Dutch prodigy due to a lack of an F1 seat for the following season. Since then, Wolff has kept a close eye on potentially poaching the four-time world champion whenever the opportunity arrived.

Zak Brown and Toto Wolff (via Planetf1)
Zak Brown and Toto Wolff (via Planetf1)

Zak Brown asserted that he would place his bet on the Silver Arrows when it comes to Max Verstappen’s next F1 team. The 53-year-old pointed out that Mercedes dominated the sport in the turbo hybrid era, and the team has stability. Moreover, Brown emphasized that it is not a secret that Toto Wolff likes the Dutch driver.

If I was betting, I’d bet on Merc. In the last 10 years, they’ve won the championship seven or eight times… They have stability. We know Toto likes him.

Zak Brown added

Despite Brown’s comments, Toto Wolff has seemingly shut the door on Verstappen at least for 2026. Wolff recently acknowledged that he had made contact with the Red Bull driver for a move for 2025, but talks did not progress. Now, the Austrian billionaire was more focused on maintaining his current driver line-up of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Is leaving Red Bull the right option for Max Verstappen?

Max Verstappen has raced for Red Bull Racing since the 2016 Spanish GP when he took a shock victory. Since then, the four-time world champion has completely built the team around himself. This has allowed the Dutch driver to win four titles in a row with Milton Keynes, as he dominated the sport at the start of the ground-effect era.

Max Verstappen and George Russell (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and George Russell (via Red Bull Content Pool)

However, things have changed since. Red Bull is no longer the dominant force on the grid, after losing the constructors’ title to McLaren last year. Even at this year’s Australian GP, it was clear that the Red Bull RB21 was still slower than the MCL39. This could raise doubts within the Verstappen camp as 2026 will witness a major rules shake-up.

Max Verstappen would be evaluating whether Red Bull can give him a capable car next year, or should he potentially switch to a team like Mercedes or Aston Martin. So far, the reigning world champion has made no such statements publicly. However, rumors indicate that Verstappen will not be afraid of exiting Milton Keynes if he loses faith in the team’s future in the sport.