Guenther Steiner has told Max Verstappen to make the move to Aston Martin, because even if he “finishes last”, he’ll have a “billion” dollars.

Despite being under contract with Red Bull until 2028, Verstappen spent much of last year being questioned about a potential move to Mercedes, and it looks as if he may have to deal with more of the same this year.

Max Verstappen linked to Aston Martin in $1bn deal

The year began with a report in the Daily Mail that Aston Martin are wooing potential sponsors by claiming that Verstappen will join the team in the near future in a deal said to be worth $1 billion. Aston Martin “categorically denied” the story.

However, respected F1 journalist Mark Hughes added fuel to the fire when he reported that negotiations between Aston Martin and Verstappen are “ongoing” and went as far as to say that a deal is a “very real possibility”.

A move to Aston Martin would reunite Verstappen with Adrian Newey, the design legend behind all four of Verstappen’s title-winning Red Bull F1 cars.

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But whether he’d achieve the same success in a Newey-designed Aston Martin as his Red Bull results, well, Steiner believes for that money, he should make the move anyway.

“A billion is a big number. Even if Max finishes last, he should go for a billion,” the former Haas team boss told GPblog.

“Some of them (the teams) cannot afford him, obviously. Aston Martin can afford him.”

He, however, doubts that Aston Martin would actually put a deal worth a billion on the table.

“The billion? It’s a little bit putting it high because, that would set the record, which will never be broken again,” he said. “That’s a bit fictional, but I’m sure Aston Martin will pay a good amount of money for him.”

Verstappen’s camp was recently asked about the rumoured $1 billion, saying: “It would be nice, but we haven’t received that offer yet.”

As for which of the two drivers Verstappen could replace, Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll, the Spaniard has a contract until 2026 while Stroll, the son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, seemingly has an open-ended deal.

Steiner doesn’t believe Stroll would axe his son from the team’s line-up, leaving 2027 as the earliest that Verstappen could make the move.

“I don’t think Fernando will go, and I don’t think they replace Lance,” said the Italian.

“It’s like maybe 2027. But again, there is no guarantee for Max that Aston Martin will be good.

Pressed on Stroll’s position with the team having once again fallen well of Alonso’s points tally last season, Steiner said: “Lawrence is for sure not stupid. You can call him everything else but stupid. But blood is thicker than water.”

Helmut Marko, meanwhile, admits it is up to Red Bull to hold onto their star driver with Verstappen have made it clear that he only wants to be in the fastest car on the grid.

“We have to provide him with a car with which he is able to win under his own steam,” the Red Bull motorsport advisor told F1-Insider earlier this month.

“It can be one to two tenths of a second slower than others, but unlike last year’s car, it has to be competitive throughout the season and on every track.

“If we don’t succeed, there is no reason for Max to stay with us. You have to be realistic about that.”