ADRIAN NEWEY says Aston Martin will have to make a fast car if they are to ever attract Max Verstappen.
The design guru, 66, has shut down talk of the Dutchman joining Aston Martin any time soon from Red Bull.
Newey sent shockwaves through F1 when he announced he was leaving Red Bull last season before committing his future to Aston in September.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, he is making his first appearance in the paddock since his bombshell move.
Newey said: “Max is clearly a phenomenal talent and he’s a supreme competitor.
“So if we’re to ever attract Max, the first thing we have to do is make a fast car.
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“There’s no point in pipe-dreaming about anything else for now.”
When pressed further about the timeline for this project, Newey said: “I’ve got absolutely no idea.”
There was huge speculation surrounding Verstappen’s future last season after Red Bull’s car struggled and Christian Horner’s ‘sexting scandal’ threw the team into chaos.
The Red Bull boss, who denied the accusations, was cleared of the allegations twice after a private, independent investigation.
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Mercedes were tipped as the favourite destination with Toto Wolff publicly trying to tempt the four-time world champion.
The current team is made up of world champion Fernando Alonso, 43, and Lance Stroll, the son of the team’s owner, Lawrence Stroll.
Newey added: “Lance, I think has an unfairly bad rap,
“Any driver who gets to Formula One is clearly very good, but I think Lance is much better than people give him credit for.
“Fernando is such a good character. He’s been an enemy for many years, along with Lewis (Hamilton).”
“Two drivers I’ve always, from the modern era, felt I would enjoy working with were Lewis and Fernando and I couldn’t work with both so at least I got one of them.”
Newey has been laser-focused since March on designing the 2026 car under new regulations.
He said: “My wife says I go into a design trance and I can understand what she means.
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“When I get into this sort of period of intense concentration, I tend to not see left and right.
“All my processing power is going into one area which is trying to work with everyone to design a fast racing car.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
