Krack: Aston Martin door ‘always open’ to Verstappen

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack says “the door is always open” to Max Verstappen, underscoring the credibility of Team Silverstone’s F1 ambitions following its hiring of F1 designer Adrian Newey.

The Briton will join Aston Martin next year as its Managing Technical Partner, a newly created role that will give Newey full control and responsibility of the team’s technical and engineering department.

Newey’s hiring is the latest move by team owner Lawrence Stroll to propel his outfit to the top of the grid, the Canadian billionaire sparing no effort to realise his lofty ambitions in the sport.

While Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028, special clauses in the Dutchman’s contract could allow him to leave the team prematurely.

Mercedes has clearly stated its intentions regarding the three-time F1 world champion, with team boss Toto Wolff admitting to holding talks earlier this summer with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen and Max’s father, Jos, regarding a potential partnership in the future, and perhaps as early as 2026.

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But Krack sees no reason why Aston Martin cannot position itself in the running for Verstappen’s services, given its proclaimed ambitions, and reunite the Dutchman and Newey.

“The door for Max Verstappen is always open, for everything,” Krack told the media ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“When you manage to appoint Adrian Newey, first of all, it is proof that the project is credible, that the whole vision of Lawrence is not just words, but it is real action that we can take confidence from as a team.

“This is not an underdog team like it used to be in the past, it is a team that should be confident it can do it, but also you now have a completely different approach with partners and drivers.

“[Signing Newey] opens a lot of doors for the future.”

Newey is set to join Aston Martin in March 2025, by which time the team will have already begun laying the foundation for its 2026 car that will be conceived according to F1’s all-new regulations.

The Briton will have no input into the next-generation design’s early foundation. However, Krack insists the development process will be kept flexible, allowing the team to incorporate Newey’s ideas once he officially joins.

"Honestly, there will be still enough time,” he assured. “Obviously, you must not start before the 1st of January with the aerodynamic work and the packaging and all these kinds of things will still be possible to change.

"I think the basic package, it's clear where the engine is and where is the gearbox, then it's a matter of adjusting.

“But also we must not forget that the regulation is also quite restrictive in some areas, so there's not so much freedom that you have in some areas.

"Then it's for us to accommodate and to adjust. We need to be prepared for maybe adjusting a little bit the project plan to accommodate fresh ideas or maybe some suggestion from thinking out of the box, or from a different angle."

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