Aston Martin target Max Verstappen in £1BILLION deal for Red Bull’s four-time world champion to turn Formula One on its head – after signing up £20m-a-year star designer Adrian Newey

Aston Martin is telling potential sponsors that Max Verstappen will join them in their ambitious bid to win the world title, in a £1 billion deal that would be one of the biggest in the sport’s history.

The four-time world champion’s contract could be worth up to £1 billion for the rest of his career and would almost certainly include shares in the Silverstone-based team.

Mail Sport has been told that Jefferson Slack, close lieutenant of Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire owner of Aston Martin, recently made pitches to potential investors claiming the 27-year-old Dutchman would join them.

For the time being, that is more of a permanent wish than an established fact. Verstappen has stated in recent weeks that he would ideally continue his illustrious career at Red Bull, where he has achieved all his back-to-back successes and has a contract until 2028.

However, Verstappen’s outstanding talent sets him apart as the one thing all team bosses would dream of most – not least a serial winner in the business world like fashion mogul Stroll.

Verstappen currently earns around £50 million a year. Only seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who starts at Ferrari this year, can match that figure – and possibly even exceed it if bonuses are added.

The four-time world champion’s contract could be worth up to £1 billion for the rest of his career and would almost certainly include a stake in the Silverstone-based team.

Mail Sport has been told that Jefferson Slack, a close lieutenant of Canadian billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll (above), recently made pitches to potential investors

It would take a lot of money to win away the sport’s best driver – perhaps £200 million a year. Verstappen is the only man in the sport who can practically name his own price.

Aston Martin has had occasional contact with the Verstappen camp, but mainly about their endurance racing programme.

The Verstappens will likely keep an open mind for now and weigh up how the new Red Bull-built, Ford-backed engine fares under the new regulations that come into effect next year.

A source with knowledge of the situation said of Slack, Aston’s chief marketing officer: ‘Jefferson, or Jeff as others know him, is going around saying Max is joining Aston Martin. It could be a ploy that adds extra value to the deal he wants to make, but bringing in Max also makes perfect sense.

‘They’ve signed Adrian Newey for £20m a year as the greatest car designer of all time and Lawrence won’t let that be the extent of it.

“He has said he wants to win the world title and he won’t let anything get in his way. He wants to put an end to the dominant era led by Christian Horner (at Red Bull) and Toto Wolff (at Mercedes).

‘Adrian would think that Lance Stroll (son of owner Lawrence) is not good enough as a driver. And that Fernando Alonso, 43 years old, is too old.

‘Adrian is determined to make himself a success again and wants to work with the best.

Aston Martin (general team pictured above with Brad Pitt) has been in informal contact with the Verstappen camp, but mainly about their endurance racing program

Verstappen is the only man in the sport who can practically name his own price

“They gave Adrian a stake to bring him over from Red Bull and it’s possible they could do the same with Max.”

Asked for comment, an Aston Martin spokesperson ‘firmly’ denied that Slack had taken approaches based on Verstappen’s possible entry. The spokesperson highlighted that both Stroll Jnr and Alonso have contracts for this year and next year.