Insane Max Verstappen rumour rocks Formula 1 as plot emerges to blow up grid

A plot to blow up the Formula 1 grid as we know it has emerged with bonkers suggestions surrounding Max Verstappen.

A plot to make Max Verstappen one of the highest-paid athletes on the planet — and blow up the Formula 1 grid as we know it — is reportedly taking shape.

The reigning world champion’s future has become the hottest conversation in F1 this year as his Red Bull team continues to go from bad to worse.

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The only person not talking about the speculation is the Dutchman himself, who has been blunt when responding to questions about rumours surrounding a potential Red Bull exit.

However, the situation appears to be very different behind the scenes with an extraordinary report on Friday claiming the 27-year-old is set to be offered a ludicrous $470 million ($USD300m) sum to make a sensational move to Aston Martin.

The team owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll is reportedly the target of Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, through his close ally Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who manages the Gulf nation’s $940 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF).

That brings the story back to Verstappen, who would be a jewel in the crown should the PIF pull off its reported interest in buying Aston Martin.

That is the bombshell report first published by Italian news outlet La Gazzetta, which claims Verstappen’s move to the UK-based team would be “the deal of the century”.

The reported $470 million offer would stretch across three years, putting Verstappen alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi and John Rahm as the highest-paid athletes on the planet, according to Forbes.

Verstappen is still contracted with Red Bull through to the end of 2028, but the contract reportedly includes get-out clauses that would allow him to leave at the end of this year if he wants to head down that path.

La Gazzetta reports the offer being prepared by Aston Martin would stretch from 2026 to 2028.

Leading F1 journalist Luigi Perna wrote the offer to Verstappen is a “mountain of money”.

“The operation that could bring Max Verstappen to Aston Martin has truly astronomical figures,” he reports.

“The Dutchman, determined to leave Red Bull at the end of this season, would find himself signing the richest contract in the history of Formula 1 — $300m for the next three years — equivalent to 264 million euros. It might seem like fantasy, but it is reality.”

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen is not having a great year. Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP.

The team, however, has repeatedly denied links to Verstappen — including at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

“It’s normal for the media to speculate on driver market, but we have an amazing driver line-up that we are committed to and who are under contract for 2026 and beyond,” a spokesperson for the team told PlanetF1.com.

“Our focus is on delivering for our drivers by giving them a more consistent and competitive car. When we do, they are both capable of delivering great results.”

Verstappen and Red Bull had a rough time last week in Bahrain with the four-time world champion only finishing sixth, sparking crisis talks in the team on how to improve their car.

Sky Sports pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz revealed he had spotted Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen in a heated confrontation with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko in the team garage following the race.

Verstappen was third-fastest in Saturday morning’s second practice session — 0.3 seconds behind the McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

On the opening day of this weekend’s Grand Prix, Verstappen was involved in a terse exchange with Sky Sport’s David Croft when the F1 commentator asked him bluntly if he was going to leave Red Bull.

Verstappen responded: “You focus on commentating, I’ll focus on driving.

“We don’t need to worry about any other scenarios. A lot of people are talking about it except me.

Lance Stroll (left) would have slimmer job security than teammate Fernando Alonso (right). Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP.

“Like I said before, I just want to focus on my car, work with the people in the team.

“That is the only thing I am thinking about in Formula 1 at the moment. I am very relaxed.”

Senior Red Bull adviser Marko, however, poured fuel on the burning speculation with some interesting comments where he told Sky Germany that he had “great concern” Verstappen would find another team.

F1 legend and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso said on Friday he would welcome Verstappen as a teammate, but said the scenario was “very unlikely to happen”.

Verstappen’s potential move to Aston Martin would likely be the end of Lance Stroll’s time with the team, should his father Lawrence hand over the ownership papers.

The Saudi PIF is already heavily invested in the team with state-owned oil giant Aramco serving as the team’s title partner.

The Saudi group was previously linked with buying the entire race series before being knocked by ownership group Liberty Media.

Prince Khalid has not been shy about his objectives.

“Personally, I would like to see a Saudi team,” he said, according to ESPN.

“But if Saudi Arabia or one of the Saudi companies will be involved in one of the teams, I would like them to do it the right way and be successful. It’s a tricky question, but why not?”

A Saudi take-over of Aston Martin would likely arm the team with the biggest war chest in motorsport.

Aston Martin has already done plenty to entice Verstappen to make the bold move.

The team head-hunted F1 aerodynamics guru Adrian Newey and also last month used its fancy wind tunnel at its headquarters in Silverstone for the first time.

The ball is in Verstappen’s court.

Originally published as Insane Max Verstappen rumour rocks Formula 1 as plot emerges to blow up grid