Speculations about the future of Max Verstappen continue to fuel the paddock: extension with Red Bull, transfer to McLaren or Mercedes, unless daring the Aston Martin challenge?
For specialized journalist Mark Hughes, if the four-time world champion were to leave Red Bull, his choice should not fall on McLaren.
According to him, the most attractive long-term project is that of Aston Martin, where he would reunite with Adrian Newey.
The Newey Attraction
In his column published by The Race, Hughes believes that Aston Martin’s real asset does not lie solely in its new ultramodern facilities, but especially in the presence of Newey, considered one of the greatest engineers in the history of Formula 1.
The journalist takes as an example the strategy adopted by the Briton from the start of the season. Rather than gradually developing the car used in the first races, Newey deliberately focused resources on a major upgrade introduced mid-season.
“The fact that Newey decided, even before the start of the season, not to develop the car from the first races and to concentrate his efforts on the ‘B’ version introduced mid-championship says a lot about his way of working,” explains Hughes.
According to him, this approach shows that Newey favors finding fundamental solutions rather than short-term improvements aimed at giving a better image of the team: “Without caring about external perception, he knew the first car would be far from sufficient. He accepted this situation for half a season in order to tackle the real weaknesses of the concept.”
A technical concept still as bold
Hughes also points out that Newey continues to push aerodynamic limits with Aston Martin. This philosophy recalls the one that allowed Red Bull to build its dominance under previous regulations.
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The British car notably adopts a rake angle (inclination between the front and rear of the car) more pronounced than that of all its competitors: “Newey has always been a supporter of cars with strong rake. He was the one who started this trend at Red Bull before ground effect disrupted aerodynamic concepts.”
For now, other teams have not followed this path, mainly because they have not yet managed to maintain a sufficiently stable airflow at low speed with such a configuration.
Hughes believes, however, that Newey deliberately accepts these difficulties to accumulate data that will then allow exploiting the full potential of this philosophy: “He thinks differently from others. He sometimes makes mistakes, but when he does, the lessons he draws usually allow him to come back with a devastating solution. That is what his history shows.”
A more stimulating challenge than joining McLaren
For Hughes, joining a McLaren already capable of playing leading roles would probably offer immediate results to Verstappen, as would a transfer to the dominant Mercedes team. On the other hand, participating in building a new winning project alongside Newey would represent a much more exciting challenge.
The journalist concludes without ambiguity: “If I were Fernando Alonso, I would extend my contract with Aston Martin as soon as possible. And if I were Max Verstappen, I would be much more tempted by this challenge than by simply getting into an already fast McLaren.”
However, this is only Mark Hughes’ personal analysis. To date, Verstappen remains under contract with Red Bull and no concrete element confirms that he is considering a departure to Aston Martin or another team.
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