Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen rubbished claims Christian Horner could be sacked as team principal

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen dismissed Christian Horner exit rumours, saying the speculation doesn’t mean anything

Max Verstappen has dismissed claims Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could be sacked.

Horner, who has overseen Red Bull’s F1 team since it was founded in 2005, has faced a turbulent last 18 months on and off the track.

Allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him in February 2024 by a female colleague were dismissed following an appeal last summer. Horner denied the accusations throughout.

Red Bull has seen several high-profile figures leave, including legendary designer Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.

Sergio Perez lost his seat at the end of 2024 despite having a contract for this year and Liam Lawson lasted only two races as Verstappen’s team-mate, who is currently Yuki Tsunoda.

Red Bull are currently third in the Constructors’ Championship and 141 points adrift of leaders McLaren after six rounds.

Austrian outlet oe24 reported discussions have taken place regarding Horner’s future in the team as Red Bull celebrate their 400th F1 race this weekend in Imola.

Image:Red Bull team principal Horner has been in charge since the outfit joined the grid in 2005

“Honestly, I have no idea where they come from, to be honest. Naturally, I don’t really follow a lot of that,” Verstappen told Sky Italy.

“So, people ask me questions about that, and I’m like, ‘honestly, I really don’t know who even puts that in the world.’

“Of course, I think naturally, as a team, we are not entirely happy with how we are performing, but we’re also working on trying to be more competitive.

“But if you ask everyone this question, I think no one is happy or satisfied with their performance, you always want to be better, you want to perform more. That’s what we’re trying to do. So, for me, these rumours don’t mean anything.”

Red Bull have won six constructors’ and eight drivers’ titles under Horner, who is the longest serving team principal on the grid.

Verstappen, who is 32 points behind Oscar Piastri in this year’s championship, insists the team are more focused on car rather than media reports.

“We just focus on the performance. Where these rumours come from, I have no idea. I don’t even know how people can come up with those kind of things,” he said.

“We want to improve the car, and that’s what everyone in the team is focused on. ”

Red Bull ‘constantly upgrading’ the car

Red Bull ran a new floor in Miami on Verstappen’s car and are expected to bring more updates, like most other teams, to Imola and the upcoming European races in Monaco and Spain.

The reigning world champion described their Imola upgrade as “a little step forward” but does “not expect to suddenly close the gap to McLaren”, who finished over half a minute clear of the field in Miami.

“We have been constantly upgrading the car, trying to find little bits of performance,” said Verstappen.

“This track is not suddenly where the magic happens, but of course we would like to be a little bit faster. At the moment, I don’t know how much that is going to bring us, to be honest.”

Verstappen added “no one was in the same league” as McLaren and pointed out that their advantage is bigger than Red Bull’s record-breaking season in 2023 when the Dutchman won 19 of the 22 races.

“We never had that kind of gap but it is also a bit track specific. At some tracks there’s more thermal degradation than others,” he said.

“The advantage will not always be that big.”