Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has been all over the news after reports emerged that Aston Martin have offered him a mind-boggling $1.2 billion deal to convince him to snub Red Bull and join their side. Rumors linking him to Silverstone are likely to intensify further after reports have now emerged that the Dutchman wants to partner with Aston Martin’s 2025 Vantage, worth $191,000, for his GT3 team.
The 27-year-old has hinted since 2023 that he has been interested in launching his own GT3 team, and it seems that he is now making his goals a reality. Per endurance-info.com, Verstappen will debut his GT3 team in the GT World Challenge Europe program.
Verstappen’s choice of car for this racing series is the 2025 Vantage, a car that is powered by a 4.0L V8 engine and can generate 656 horsepower. Further, just like the previous models of the Vantage, the 2025 edition also has an eight-speed automatic transmission, which only drives the rear wheels.
Other than the brilliant specifications of the 2025 Vantage, another reason why Verstappen could have selected this car is that he himself owns a 2018 Vantage, and hence, he could have been impressed by its performance. It seems unlikely that Verstappen will drive this car himself as for the time being, he remains committed to F1.
Max is apparently starting his own GT team this year in GT World Challenge Europe
The car of choice.. the Vantage GT3. I know he’s had it for a bit but it’s not helping with the AM rumours in F1 pic.twitter.com/WHE49i8sHS
— Enzo (@Aperta) February 4, 2025
While the 27-year-old may not drive the Aston Martin Vantage, he could very well drive the AMR26 next year, considering all the rumors that are linking him to the Silverstone-based side. Although Aston Martin have denied making any move for the current Red Bull driver, some experts have given credence to these reports.
The Race’s Mark Hughes said, “The idea of Max to Aston Martin I think is very real, and if what we’re hearing on the grapevine is true, those negotiations are already ongoing. So, even before we started hearing these rumors from within the paddock, and not just from people speculating, it did make perfect sense“.
There are two key reasons other than the lucrative contract why Aston Martin may indeed interest Verstappen. First, he will again get to drive a car designed by Adrian Newey, the legendary aerodynamicist who designed all four of the Dutchman’s championship-winning cars at Red Bull.
And second are the concerns surrounding Red Bull’s prospects from 2026 onwards, with a new set of regulations to kick in. The new regulations are engine-specific and Red Bull will be entering into unchartered territory as they will be producing their engines for the first time in partnership with Ford.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin already have an experienced power supplier in Honda, the Japanese automaker whose engines helped Red Bull win two Constructors’ titles in 2022 and 2023.
