Fresh on the heels of Adrian Newey’s decision to sign with Aston Martin, Max Verstappen is already being linked with a similarly-sensational move from Red Bull.
Italy’s Autosprint magazine believes Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll is already in negotiations with the triple world champion, whose father Jos has already been flirting with a potential move to Mercedes for his son.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher thinks Newey decided to leave because of the internal team turmoil in 2024, which may even explain Red Bull’s sudden fall from dominance.
"The unrest at the beginning of the year certainly contributed to it," he told Sky Deutschland. "But that’s not all that has been happening. You hear a lot in the paddock.
"There’s a lot of talk around that team," said Schumacher, who admitted he has heard rumours that Christian Horner’s management style is "not quite as nice anymore".
Newey admits he also had talks with Ferrari, but was ultimately attracted by Stroll’s passion for the Aston Martin project, the rapid development of the Silverstone based team, and the offer of a team shareholding.
"We have managed to bring in the best," Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa told DAZN, "and it is because Adrian believes the team is ready for him. Not all the teams are ready to bring in a figure like Adrian Newey."
De la Rosa insists he didn’t know Newey had signed until the rest of the world also found out.
"We knew absolutely nothing, I can assure you," said the former F1 driver. "The truth is that we knew nothing but we knew that it was a dream scenario.
"It is very important news for the history of Aston Martin in Formula 1 - I think it clearly marks a before and an after."
De la Rosa said he understood how serious team owner Stroll was about succeeding in F1 when he began to target multiple world champions to serve in the cockpit.
"The fact that he signed Fernando (Alonso), it showed his willingness to see one world champion go and to react immediately by signing another," said the Spaniard, referring to Sebastian Vettel.
"That’s what he did with Fernando, that’s what he’s done now with Adrian - always counting only on the best so that the team grows."
But even as the new Verstappen-to-Aston rumours begin to swell, Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore warns that the team cannot expect to simply buy success via prominent individuals.
"Formula 1 is actually not a sport of egos," the Italian declared. "One man alone cannot change a team. Of course they can buy whatever they want, but the result will not be related to their purchases."