Christian Horner Responds To Max Verstappen Rumours

Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing, was put on the spot ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he was questioned about Max Verstappen’s future at the team. He firmly dismissed the speculation, asserting that the world champion remains committed to the team. 

Verstappen had a tough weekend in Bahrain, where he only managed a P6 finish. This resulted in questions about whether he was potentially considering a future away from Red Bull. However, speaking in Saudi Arabia before the Qualifying session, Horner responded to these concerns, stating: “I think Max has made it very clear that he’s part of the team and we’re all in it together, we all want to get some performance back on the car, get into the position we were two weeks ago in Japan.”

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The rumours come amid ongoing reports of unrest within Red Bull following the lacklustre performance in Bahrain. The rumours were further fuelled when Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claimed that Verstappen’s future at the team was a “great concern”. 

Despite Marko’s comments, Horner is insisting that Verstappen will be in the Red Bull seat when the new power unit era arrives in 2026. When asked whether Max will be on the grid at the Melbourne 2026 event, he responded, “Yeah, absolutely.” 

When Verstappen was asked about the situation during the press conference in Jeddah, he dismissed the question jokingly by saying the interviewer, Sky Sport’s David Croft, should “just focus on commentating”. Hours later, Max secured pole position during Qualifying of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This move served as a strong rebuttal to any doubts about his success at Red Bull, as well as the team’s performance. He managed to finish the race in P2 after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. 

There remains speculation, however, with rumours linking Verstappen to rival teams like Mercedes and Aston Martin. Both these teams have publicly stated their satisfaction with their driver line-ups. Mercedes has vocally backed George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli, and Aston Martin has indicated that they’re going to continue with Lance Stroll and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

With Adrian Newey moving to Aston Martin and Honda joining as an engine supplier in 2026, the speculation remains alive that Verstappen may move to the team too. 

However, Horner remains confident that Red Bull will retain the reigning world champion. “There’s an awful lot of noise, and that’s really what it is, it’s noise. Max is working super hard with the engineers, everybody is trying to find performance, of course, there’s always going to be speculation, but we’re very comfortable.”

Verstappen showed obvious displeasure after finishing second in Saudi Arabia, refusing to answer questions in the post-race interview. 

As the season continues with many more races still to come, Red Bull is looking to recover momentum and if Horner is to be believed, Verstappen remains firmly in their plans.