Why Max Verstappen will be keeping an eye on Aston Martin's F1 progress

Like it or not, much like Lewis Hamilton before him, Max Verstappen is the greatest talent of his generation, and is more than worthy of being in the conversation of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. That is not an opinion; it is, as the popular George Russell meme states, “Facts.”

As such, the Dutchman is not wired to tolerate failure of any kind, and while competing increasingly for podiums as the season has progressed – Verstappen has now stood on the podium at three of the last four grands prix – there is a world of difference between this, and scoring race and championship wins.

It is no secret that Verstappen has been assessing his options should he decide to end his long-standing relationship with Red Bull at the end of the year. But it is also true that this behaviour should never be a surprise, given that drivers will always want to be in the best car possible, so meetings – whether in public or private – happen on a basis far more regular than is reported.

But the nature of Verstappen’s courting of McLaren and Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff’s long-standing admiration for the 28-year-old mean that speculation has been rife. Given the well-known exit clause in his Red Bull contract, which is now believed to be active, you could be forgiven if you expected to see both Wolff and McLaren CEO Zak Brown falling over themselves with contracts in hand.

Instead, both have voiced confidence in their current line-ups, leaving Verstappen’s options for a move looking minimal, at best.

This is where Aston Martin enters the picture. Yes, the team has endured possibly the most underwhelming start to a season given the astronomically high expectations that hung over it, but this is a team on the up, and one that it would come as no surprise to see fighting at the very front in a short amount of time.

A substantial 16-part upgrade introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix – a B-Spec car in all but name – vaulted the team into the thick of the midfield, with Fernando Alonso scoring the team’s first Q2 appearance of the campaign. In the race, both he and team-mate Lance Stroll showed impressive pace throughout, with the Canadian leading home finishes of 13th and 14th places respectively.

With phase two of the upgrade plan coming when action resumes in Zandvoort at the end of the month, Honda will debut its new power unit, which it is reported will deliver a boost of between 30-50bhp. Although the other teams will not have been standing still, this added poke will likely push the team up the order yet further.

Consider that further aerodynamic upgrades will come in Monza and Baku, and the picture continues to get brighter still.

But I hear you ask, why should any of this interest Verstappen, given that Red Bull is still comfortably ahead of Aston Martin.

Well, Aston Martin has possibly the most impressive factory in F1 at present, with facilities that, in theory, should enable the rapid development of something rather special.

Another ace it has up its sleeve is the design guru, Adrian Newey. A man who has on more than one occasion been said to be able to ‘see air’, such is his mastery of aerodynamics.

Verstappen’s relationship with Honda should also not be underestimated either, with the Japanese manufacturer having powered him to all four of his world titles to date – even if these power units were badged differently in some years.

While Aston Martin may not presently be at the level that Verstappen would be overly impressed by, should he see that the team is able to consistently improve at a rate greater than those teams around it, there is a chance that he could make a switch that would be perhaps one of the biggest gambles in F1 history.

Even though Hamilton was criticised over his move to Mercedes for 2013, the Briton had the last laugh with what followed, and it is more than possible that this situation could be repeated with Verstappen.

Ultimately, this all boils down to two key questions.

Firstly, does Verstappen believe that Aston Martin has a higher performance ceiling than Red Bull?

And secondly, is he willing to suffer a year or two in the midfield to develop the team and build a car around him, similar to how Michael Schumacher acted with Ferrari after moving from Benetton in 1996?

Admittedly, even in saying all of this and making the case for a switch, the most likely outcome is that Verstappen will indeed remain with Red Bull for at least one more year. But you can be certain that he will be keeping an eye on the performance of the other top teams and, even if they are a midfield runner next term, Aston Martin.