Ex-Formula 1 race winner Juan Pablo Montoya has tipped Aston Martin to entice Max Verstappen with an “offer he can’t refuse.”
Reports in the off-season speculated that Aston Martin was targeting a move for Verstappen with a ludicrous £1 billion bid, but such reports were denied by the Silverstone-based outfit.
But why would Verstappen consider joining a midfield team after securing four consecutive world titles with Red Bull?
Well, Red Bull has started the year lacking the outright pace to challenge McLaren and Verstappen’s task to win a fifth consecutive title looks harder than ever.
Moreover, Red Bull is embarking on in-house power unit production from 2026 in tandem with regulatory changes, with Honda departing to form a works partnership with Aston Martin.
Aston Martin’s 2026 challenger will also benefit from the design genius of Adrian Newey, who has a state-of-the-art factory and wind tunnel at his disposal in Silverstone.
All this has led Montoya to claim (via Vision4Sport), “I think Max will get an offer he can’t refuse from Aston Martin”
The Colombian believes Verstappen could bide his time and see how 2026 pans out at Red Bull and Aston Martin before potentially jumping ship.
“He might give Red Bull a chance for a year and a chance for Adrian to start figuring it out,” Montoya said.
“Adrian can’t do that immediately. It’s a new whole group, and everyone needs to start working together.
“Are they going to be better than where they are next year? For sure. But I don’t think they’re going to start winning a string of races.
“But if Red Bull struggles in year one, then it wouldn’t surprise me if by race three, Max has already signed with somebody else.
“If I were Max, I would go to Aston. Mercedes would be cool, too, but Aston would be the logical choice, having Adrian and Honda. Everything he has won with is there.”
Montoya believes Verstappen could replace Alonso at Aston Martin
Montoya believes that if Verstappen did opt to join Aston Martin, for instance, in 2027, it would be in place of veteran Fernando Alonso.
The ex-Williams and McLaren racer believes this to be so due to Lance Stroll’s place within the Aston Martin setup, owned by his father Lawrence.
“If Verstappen joined Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso will retire and become an ambassador for life for the company,” Montoya said.
“Fernando would be pissed off to a point, but it’s the right choice. If you take Lance out of the equation, then you lose Lawrence.
“And if you lose Lawrence, you lose everything. You lose Aston Martin, and then there’s no Max coming.
“If bringing Max would mean that Lawrence would have to sacrifice Lance, that would be the wrong choice for the team.
“If they forced Lawrence to do that. I think he would say, ‘Okay, here’s the team. Over to you. Let’s just sell the team, I’m not interested.’”
Alonso’s current contract ends in 2026, and the Spaniard has hinted next year could be his last in F1, dependent on how the team performs.
“Probably – or at least to start with – it will be my last season in Formula 1 because my contract finishes at the end of 2026, so it’s the time of delivering and the time of truth,” Alonso told The Chequered Flag podcast in January.
“If the 2026 season is running smoothly and we’re having a good time and there is a possibility to race one more year, I will be open, for sure,” he added.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has repeatedly told several media outlets he’s not considering a move away from Red Bull presently, although the longer the team goes without race victories, the more he could consider a change of heart.
READ MORE – Christian Horner staggered by reported Aston Martin £1 billion bid for Max Verstappen
