Aston Martin using Max Verstappen's original racing number in the summer break teaser sends rumor mill into overdrive

Aston Martin's recent clip about the F1 summer break teased Max Verstappen's original racing number, 33. The cameo of Verstappen's racing number in the team's clip fueled rumors about the Dutchman's potential move to the British team in the future.

Ever since Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female team employee, rumors of Verstappen leaving the team started brewing. The F1 driver's father, Jos Verstappen, was also seen speaking with Mercedes' Toto Wolff at the Bahrain GP, while several rumors flew that Max could either move to Mercedes or even Aston Martin.

According to reports, another major reason why Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull was because of a rumored power struggle inside the team, especially between Helmut Marko and Christian Horner.

While the rumors have slowed down in the past few months, they have not completely died down. While Mercedes' Toto Wolff has publicly praised Verstappen and wooed him into the team, reports claim that Aston Martin is also chasing the defending world champion. It is speculated that the British team's owner, Lawrence Stroll, has flexed his financial muscle to lure Verstappen.

Amid all the rumors, Aston Martin's official X account recently posted a video clip of their F1 car, AMR24, parked on a beach underneath a palm tree. Soon after the clip begins, a beach ball is thrown towards the F1 car, which bounces off the car's front tire and goes behind the tree.

What's surprising is that the beach ball had the number 33 written on it. Since neither of the current drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, use this racing number, it can be connected to Max Verstappen.

The only other connection between number 33 and Aston Martin could be that Fernando Alonso has yet to win his 33rd F1 race in his racing career.

As of now, neither Verstappen nor Aston Martin has confirmed anything about the world champion's move.

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Former Red Bull driver on how Mercedes and Aston Martin were chasing Max Verstappen

Former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos recently talked about Aston Martin and Mercedes chasing Max Verstappen. On his LinkedIn profile, Doornbos addressed the various transfer rumors, including Verstappen being lured by Mercedes and Aston Martin.

He claimed that Verstappen has a strong relationship with Mercedes and reckons that the Dutchman would join the Silver Arrows. He also touched on the chance of the team announcing Kimi Antonelli's F1 debut alongside George Russell.

However, the 42-year-old also added that Aston Martin would not let Mercedes take Verstappen so easily and would try everything in their power to sway the three-time world champion.

"Max Verstappen’s relationship with Mercedes remains strong. Mercedes has an open seat for 2025, and it’s likely that during the Monza weekend, they’ll announce that Kimi Antonelli will get the chance to debut in Formula 1 alongside George Russell. I still believe Max will join Mercedes in 2026, although Aston Martin will do everything to sway him, sparing no expense," Doornbos wrote.

Max Verstappen currently leads the drivers' world championship with 277 points.