'An offer he can't refuse' - Verstappen backed to leave Red Bull and join F1 rival

Juan Pablo Montoya has predicted Max Verstappen will receive “an offer he can't refuse” to join the Aston Martin F1 team in the near future.

Verstappen has a contract in place with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season - however he has consistently been linked with an early exit over the last 12 months amid talk of an exit clause.

Last year, it was reported Aston Martin was sizing up a $1 billion offer to poach Verstappen from Red Bull - a claim that was denied by the Silverstone-based squad.

With Adrian Newey, the technical mastermind behind Verstappen's championship-winning Red Bull cars, now working at Aston Martin, Montoya has signalled the team as a destination for Verstappen.

“I think Max will get an offer he can’t refuse from Aston Martin,” Montoya told Vision4Sport.

“He might give Red Bull a chance for a year and a chance for Adrian to start figuring it out. Adrian can’t do that immediately. It's a new whole group and everyone needs to start working together. 

“Are they going to be better than where they are next year? For sure. But I don't think they're going to start winning a string of races.”

The 2026 season will take place under new technical regulations which could shake up the F1 pecking order.

Montoya has predicted Verstappen will use the first three races to make up his mind about whether or not he remains with Red Bull.

“But if Red Bull struggles in year one, then it wouldn't surprise me if by race three Max has already signed with somebody else,” he said.

“If I was Max, I would go to Aston. Mercedes would be cool too, but Aston would be the logical choice having Adrian and Honda. Everything he has won with is there.”