Max Verstappen has made his feelings clear on his Red Bull future amid reports of £1bn move to F1 rivals

Max Verstappen has made his feelings clear on his future in F1 amid reports that Aston Martin could try to sign the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen's current Red Bull contract runs out at the end of 2028, having been originally signed in 2022 after his first Drivers' Championship win.

The Dutchman has since retained his crown in every season since then and is now a reigning four-time world champion.

On Thursday, the Daily Mail reported that a 'close lieutenant' of Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll was pitching to potential investors that Verstappen would be joining the team.

A link between the Dutchman and Aston Martin is that the former Red Bull chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, is now working at the Silverstone-based team as a managing technical partner.

Aston Martin moved to deny the claims but when approached by GP Blog for a response, Verstappen's management are said to have responded: "That's nice."

Verstappen, 27, has now been in F1 for a decade after initially being signed to the Toro Rosso team in 2015.

He spent a year there before being promoted to the works Red Bull team in 2016, replacing the under-performing Daniil Kvyat.

Outside of Formula 1, the Dutchman regularly competes in sim races and is known to be a fan of other motorsport disciplines such as endurance racing.

Red Bull star Max Verstappen pictured (Image: Getty)

Speaking in 2023, Verstappen said: "Some people love racing because that's the only thing they do, really.

"For me, I love racing. I still do, but I also want to do other things and not only Formula 1 at some stage."

But it is his comments on Aston Martin that could be of major interest to F1 fans.

Verstappen was asked about potentially joining the team when Newey's move was announced last year.

He responded: "I have other worries at the moment that I'm paying a lot of attention to and working on."

But he refused to explicitly rule out a move, adding: "That is something maybe for the future that I think about, not now.

"I know that Lawrence is pushing flat out for it to be a success and I hope for them that it can be a success."

Do you think that Max Verstappen will eventually leave Red Bull - and would Aston Martin be his next destination? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.