Max Verstappen’s next decision may hurt Mercedes after Christian Horner sack
Verdict on what Max Verstappen will do next after Christian Horner sacking
The future of Max Verstappen has intensified after Christian Horner’s exit from Red Bull.
Horner was shockingly sacked as Red Bull’s team principal and CEO on Wednesday.
It will cause another twist in the saga over Verstappen’s next decision - about whether to stay at Red Bull or chase an F1 title with a rival team.
Mercedes are at the front of the queue should the reigning F1 champion want to leave Red Bull.
But Martin Brundle thinks that Horner’s departure might have a damaging knock-on effect to Mercedes’ hopes.
“It makes it more likely that Verstappen will stay,” Brundle told Sky Sports.
“It became personal in Team Verstappen.
“We know Max Verstappen has an exit clause based on where he is in the championship at the end of this month.
“Does this make it more likely to go or stay? I can only surmise it is more likely he will stay.”
Max Verstappen backed to stay at Red Bull
Last year, amid the investigation into Horner’s behaviour where he was cleared of wrongdoing, a feud emerged with Jos Verstappen.
The father of the team’s star driver warned that Horner could tear Red Bull apart if he stayed.
Neither Verstappen nor Horner has budged since, until the team boss’ sacking on Wednesday.
Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028. The details of an exit clause in his deal are sketchy but appear to only permit his exit if he is outside of the top four in the drivers’ championships by the summer break.
Mercedes have ominously not committed to a new contract for George Russell yet.
Russell’s deal is set to expire at the end of this season but, until a new one is signed, there is a vacant Mercedes drive in 2026 which Verstappen might fancy.
The 2026 F1 regulations will provide a fresh platform for each team and Mercedes are rumoured to have the best of the new engines.
But Horner’s departure from Red Bull has caused a curveball in the driver market.
Verstappen’s choice of whether to stay or go is the next huge domino to fall in F1.
In this article
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
