Max Verstappen refuses to to rule out Red Bull exit as he makes Aston Martin confession

Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull and will start work at Aston Martin next March, while Max Verstappen is rumoured to be next on Lawrence Stroll's list of targets

Max Verstappen has refused to rule out following Adrian Newey to Aston Martin.

The celebrated Formula 1 designer, whose cars have won 13 titles for Red Bull, confirmed this week he is heading to Aston. Newey starts work next March but, already, there is speculation that triple F1 champion Verstappen is next on billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll's list of targets.

And team principal Mike Krack admitted the "door is always open" for the Dutchman, should he decide to quit Red Bull. Though he insisted he has bigger fish to fry right now, amid Red Bull's sudden slump, Verstappen admitted that Newey's presence makes Aston Martin more attractive to a driver.

He said: "Lawrence, of course, is pushing flat out to make it a success with Aston Martin, so it's quite understandable that he wants to have Adrian on his side. I have other worries at the moment that I'm paying a lot of attention to and working on. That is maybe something for the future that I think about, but not now.

"I've worked with him, I know how he is as a person and what he can do. I think everyone would like to work with Adrian in their career, so potentially it does [make Aston more attractive]."

Newey was courted by several teams and his manager, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan, said he had held "long discussions" with Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton recently said he was keen to work with the 65-year-old, but insists he won't lose any sleep over missing out on the chance when he moves to Maranello next year.

He said: "Whilst I mentioned before that it would be an honour to work with Adrian, I've been privileged to work with two championship-winning teams that didn't have Adrian.

"I think any team would have been happy to have had him but, at the end of the day, he had to do what was best for him. It doesn't change anything for me - I'm focussed on my next move. I still believe 100 percent that there's lots that we can do."

Fernando Alonso will be working with Newey instead and said he had personally asked the designer to join him at Aston Martin in a private conversation. The Spaniard admitted the team will most likely not benefit from Newey's presence until 2026 - when he will be 45 and in the final year of his current deal.

But whatever he does beyond that season, Alonso is adamant that he will still personally benefit. He said: "I will be driving in 2026... After 2026 I will be driving, in Formula 1 or in another series. If I'm not driving in Formula 1, I will be in the Aston Martin team, somehow. So I will enjoy that bright future."

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Watch F1 live

Watch Formula One on Sky Sports
£22 a month

Catch all the action from Formula One on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to races, qualifying and much more for every Grand Prix. From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, you won't miss a lap on Sky Sports.

Sky
Watch it here