Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner jibed at Mercedes as he answered questions about securing Max Verstappen.
Mercedes F1 team officially confirmed ahead of the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix that Max Verstappen would not be driving for them in 2025.
Although we initially thought this would silence all the speculations about his potential exit from Red Bull, it didn't because, according to Toto Wolff, 2026 is still on the table.
Wolff also mentioned meeting with the Dutchman or his management team during the summer break. When the 26-year-old was asked about this meeting, he neither confirmed it nor denied it.
To some, it seems clear that Verstappen is going nowhere. Others can definitely imagine Dutchman changing teams. What about Red Bull's team principal? He said he was never worried that his star driver could leave.
“"No. I think I find it surprising how much discussion in the open media there is about this topic."”
“"The situation was always clear between ourselves and Max and I think others can talk, but we're comfortable with where we're at."”
When rumors about Verstappen considering the switch to Mercedes emerged for the first time, it didn't seem to make sense, as Silver Arrows were far behind Red Bull at the start of the season.
But then, the German team outperformed Red Bull in four races preceding the Dutch Grand Prix, suggesting they had caught up with the team from Milton Keynes.
However, Horner quickly pointed out that his rivals finished far behind again during the weekend at Circuit Zandvoort as he dug at Mercedes.
“"Well, it's down to us to deliver. We have an agreement until 2028. So it's down to us to deliver. I didn't see Toto's car performing that well today."”
“"Look, '28 is a long way away. It's down to us to provide a race winning car. Will you be here in 28? You know. 2025… every contract has a performance element in it."”
“"We're not going to talk about what those elements are, but as long as we provide a competitive car, we know what the situation is."”
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