Christian Horner takes a defiant stance as Max Verstappen's future at Red Bull remains unclear

Christian Horner took a firm stance regarding Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull, dismissing speculation around a potential move to Mercedes after the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, June 29. Speaking to GP Blog, the Red Bull team principal insisted that Mercedes should focus on resolving its own challenges, while Red Bull remained concentrated on its internal matters.

Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until the end of 2028, but ahead of the Austrian GP, both Toto Wolff and George Russell confirmed that conversations had taken place between the Dutchman and Mercedes. Wolff also acknowledged that Russell’s contract extension hinged on Verstappen’s decision.

Although Verstappen gave vague responses in the official press conference, he later told Dutch media that his choice would depend on how Red Bull’s performance develops in the coming weeks. Horner, however, maintained that the situation was straightforward from Red Bull’s side, calling the speculation from Mercedes “noise” and reinforcing that each team should stay focused on their own priorities.

Asked about the situation with the contract with Max Verstappen and the speculation surrounding Mercedes, Horner said (via GP Blog):

"They have their own problems, I believe they finished sixty seconds behind the race leader today. Mercedes has its own issues. We focus on ourselves. We know the situation with Max and we know what's in Max's contract. For the rest, the noises come from the other side.”

Verstappen registered his first DNF of the 2025 season during the Austrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring.

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Christian Horner has faith in Red Bull as a team despite Max Verstappen's performance

Christian Horner insists Red Bull remains a strong team despite Max Verstappen’s underwhelming qualifying result at the Austrian GP weekend. The Dutchman secured seventh on the grid in Austria, falling short of the pace set by the McLaren drivers. While Horner acknowledged that the car’s performance had not delivered as hoped, he rejected suggestions that the team had weakened.

The Red Bull Racing CEO emphasized that the core strength of the outfit remains intact, pointing out that this was the same team that dominated the 2023 season, winning every race except one. He maintained confidence in the team’s capability to bounce back and challenge at the front.

Speaking about the team and its performance after the latest F1 race in Spielberg, Horner said (via the GP Blog):

“We still have a strong team. Unfortunately, the performance we were hoping for hasn't materialized. We are towards the end of the current regulations, and I think we have some setbacks with the tools we have now, but it is still the fundamental group from 18 months ago who designed the car, where we won everything but one race. They haven't all suddenly become idiots.”

The Dutchman was involved in an unfortunate incident at the start of the race when he was hit by Kimi Antonelli, forcing him to retire. After a DNF at the Austrian GP, Max Verstappen saw his gap to the McLaren drivers increase significantly in the championship standings.

Despite the setback, the reigning world champion remains third in the standings with 155 points. However, his deficit to Lando Norris has grown to 46 points, while he now trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 61 points. Before the race in Spielberg, Max Verstappen was just 21 points behind Norris and 43 points off Piastri, making the DNF a significant blow to his title hopes.

Edited by Sumeet Kavthale