Christian Horner blasts ‘noise’, claims Max Verstappen will stay
Red Bull's Christian Horner has his say on the "noise" surrounding Max Verstappen's F1 future.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is confident Max Verstappen will stay put despite intense speculation about his F1 future.
Verstappen’s future has dominated chat in the F1 paddock after Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko admitted at the Bahrain Grand Prix that the team had “great concern” about the four-time world champion leaving.
The Dutchman has been left frustrated by Red Bull’s lack of competitiveness at the start of the 2025 season as he bids to win a fifth successive world title this year.
Red Bull’s struggles have seen Verstappen linked to rivals Mercedes and Aston Martin, and the rumours have only ramped up amid the revelation that he has performance exit clause in his current deal which runs until 2028.
“I think noise is exactly the right word to describe it,” Horner told Sky Sports after first practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in which Verstappen ended up only ninth fastest.
“There’s been a lot of noise outside of the team. Inside the team Max has reaffirmed his commitment.
“We’re focused on making the car faster, that’s where our focus is. Max is part of that. He’s a committed member of the team.
“The rest is all speculation.”
When asked directly by Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle whether he is certain Verstappen will still be driving for Red Bull next year, Horner replied: “Yes, absolutely.”
Horner also downplayed the recent comments made by Marko.
“People will always have their concerns,” he added. “As a team we are focused on sorting the car out. Sort the car out and it doesn’t even become a discussion point.”
Max Verstappen relaxed about Red Bull future
Verstappen insisted he is “very relaxed” about his future despite Red Bull’s difficult start to the 2025 season when he was grilled about the speculation by the media.
"A lot of people are talking about it except me,” Verstappen said during the press conference on Thursday in Jeddah.
"Like I said before, I just want to focus on my car, work with the people in the team - that's the only thing I'm thinking about in Formula 1 at the moment.
"I'm very relaxed.”
On Friday, Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Aston Martin are willing to make an astronomical €264m offer to sign Verstappen.
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