Long before his current contract expires, Red Bull has plenty of reason to be concerned about keeping Max Verstappen.
Although the reigning world champion is signed through 2028, there are various performance-based and exit clauses that could allow him to leave at the end of 2025.
Max Verstappen's management team, led by his father Jos Verstappen and Raymond Vermeulen, has been openly engaging with Mercedes' Toto Wolff over the past few months.
Now, F1-insider.com reports that a "handshake agreement" may have already been made between Jos Verstappen and Wolff, potentially paving the way for Max to switch teams in 2026.
But another intriguing option has emerged for Verstappen, with Red Bull losing its top technical mind, Adrian Newey, to Aston Martin from 2025 onward.
Aston Martin's move to works Honda power units, set for 2026, could also be a major draw for Verstappen's camp, as his three world titles with Red Bull were all achieved with Honda engines.
When asked about the rumoured Aston Martin link, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko told Osterreich newspaper: "I have no idea where that comes from."
There's even speculation that Verstappen might try to bring his mentor, Marko, along to Aston Martin, possibly reuniting him with a company car from the car manufacturer that was once Red Bull's title sponsor.
"I have to admit, the Aston Martin was a fun car," smiled Marko, now 81, "but that's not the deciding factor for me."
"Every sensible team boss has to be interested in Max," Marko added. "And he always wants to sit in the car in which he can become world champion."
Marko acknowledges that Newey will likely continue to find success after joining Aston Martin.
"Even when he came to us, Newey had the know-how to be a world champion," Marko noted.
"He started with very specific demands and ideas. These days you need a much larger team, but he will probably get that."
Nevertheless, Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, maintains that Verstappen remains fully committed to the team.
"He's working with the engineers and explaining very clearly where the problems with the car lie," Horner stated.
"He's putting a lot of time and effort into this process, and has been on several Zoom calls and in the simulator over the past few weeks," Horner added.
