The sport has been swept with speculation about Verstappen's future after Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko expressed concern the Dutch driver could leave at the end of the season.

Verstappen, a four-times consecutive champion who would be a top target for anyone able to afford him, has a contract to 2028 subject to exit clauses.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff expressed an interest in signing Verstappen last year and McLaren team boss Zak Brown said in March he expected the Red Bull driver would join Mercedes for 2026, with Aston Martin another possibility.

Vowles, who was motorsport strategy director at Mercedes and a close confident of Wolff before joining Mercedes-powered Williams in 2023, suggested George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were the better bet.

"I'm not Toto, but I think he's got a really good driver lineup for the future," he told reporters over brunch at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
"(Verstappen winning in) Japan was for me jaw-dropping, well done to him, but he comes with a lot of downsides as well that you have to acknowledge.

"And I think what Mercedes does have is a great culture with two drivers that are delivering near to the peak of the car and with one that's on the way up.

"So I personally don't think there's a place for (Verstappen)."

Vowles worked closely with Antonelli, 18, while the Italian was in the junior ranks.

"He's making steps every single week and he's only driven effectively four grand prix races," he said. "He's on a good pathway to be very, very competitive, so you keep investing in that.

"And George is delivering... you can't really fault anything he's done this year."

Red Bull and Verstappen are third in the championship after four races despite Verstappen taking an impressive win from pole at Suzuka.
The Dutch driver has a close entourage of his manager Raymond Vermeulen and father and former racer Jos, who last year called for Red Bull's Christian Horner to stand down amid allegations of improper behaviour the boss was later cleared of.

Tempers ran high in Bahrain last week after Verstappen finished only sixth.

Russell, who is out of contract at the end of the year, and Verstappen also had a public falling-out last season and Vowles doubted putting them together would work.

The latest media reports have focused on Aston Martin, a move that would reunite Verstappen with former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey and engine partner Honda.

Honda are leaving Red Bull at the end of the year to enter a new engine era in an exclusive partnership with Aston Martin.

Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper suggested, without sourcing their information, that Aston were ready to offer Verstappen $88 million a year for three years with Saudi funding.

Aston Martin, controlled by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, have Saudi energy giant Aramco as title sponsor.

--Reuters--