Max Verstappen baffled by “weird” Christian Horner question about F1 title comeback

Max Verstappen was left confused by a journalist’s question about whether his comeback in the 2025 F1 title race would have been possible with Christian Horner still in charge.

Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix earlier this year. 

The Briton spearheaded Red Bull’s F1 efforts over the last 20 years, leading the team to eight drivers’ title wins.

Horner’s departure coincided with Verstappen confirming that he would definitely remain at Red Bull in 2026, ending speculation that he could join Mercedes.

New boss Mekies has allowed Verstappen to have more influence, particularly around car setup on race weekends. 

Red Bull’s form has improved as a result, with Verstappen winning three of the last six races.

In the FIA press conference at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen was asked a question which he described as “really weird.”

The four-time world champion was asked: “Would it be possible for you to stay in this championship battle and fight back for the title with Christian Horner still in the team principal chair?”

Verstappen replied: “I find that a really weird question. I don’t know why we would suddenly close 49 points like that. I don’t know. You can fill it in yourself. I think we’ve done a good job the last few races.

“What else can I say? We try everything that we can. The car has been good in some places, not so good in others. That’s it.”

Verstappen on F1 title chances

Verstappen sits 49 points behind Lando Norris with three rounds to go. 

The momentum is with the British driver, having stormed to back-to-back victories.

Verstappen insists his approach won’t change and that he will need some luck to win a fifth title.

“The same as always. It doesn’t really change,” Verstappen explained. “It’s a lot of points so I am not really thinking about it too much. There’s not much I can do.

“We need a lot of luck now until the end to even have an opportunity. Personally, I don’t think about that.”

Even if Verstappen doesn’t win the title, it’s still been another impressive campaign for the Dutchman. 

He has delivered some memorable performances, notably his wins in Japan and Imola.

Verstappen believes he and Red Bull should be proud of their comeback, given his 100-plus point deficit to Oscar Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August.

“It’s been good for sure. Every season you try and be better,” he added. “It’s not always easy but you try to be easy, and try to really optimise everything you can with the car.

“I think most of the time we really did that so I am pleased for that. It’s not where I wanted it to be for most of the season otherwise you’re fighting for the title and we haven’t. I definitely enjoyed the highs and the wins that we did score but at the same time the lows were not fantastic.

“At the same time, even after the summer break, we were looking at a points gap over 100 and it looked like it was only going to get bigger. 

“At one point, we were overturning that by quite a bit. A bit of luck in some places but that’s something that we can be proud of to still score some good results at the end of the season.”