Verstappen: Horner's exit has “no influence on what I’m doing”

Written by Meghana Sree

Max Verstappen denies speculation of Christian Horner's recent sacking impacting his future at Red Bull, amid talk of a potential switch to Mercedes.

Max Verstappen remains tight-lipped about his future at Red Bull | Credit: Formula One

The bombshell announcement of Christian Horner’s sacking preceded the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, fanning the flames of Max Verstappen’s potential switch to Mercedes over the short mid-July break. 

Though barraged with questions about his future and possible exit clauses in his contract set till 2028, the Red Bull star driver remained tight-lipped on this matter.

While rumours of a switch to the Silver Arrows have been quietly circulating for some months now, they came roaring back to the front page with Horner’s exit – sparking renewed doubts of Verstappen’s ties to Red Bull in the wake of their plummeting performance and messy internal politics. 

However, Verstappen was quick to shut down any speculation of Horner’s exit being a catalyst for a future move out of Red Bull, stating: "It has no influence on what I’m doing.

“At the end of the day, the team made a decision to do that, and now, from our side, we just have to look forward. There are a lot of things that we want to work on and be better at, and hopefully, we just keep doing that.” 

Remaining a hot topic on Media Day ahead of the Belgian Sprint weekend, Verstappen was faced with more questions regarding his position, to which he replied: "From my side, there’s nothing to say about my future. I know that I’m here and I’m happy with where I’m at.

"The only thing that we want to do is become more competitive, and that’s what we are working on.”

Verstappen and Christian Horner achieved four Drivers' titles together | Credit: Formula One

Verstappen went on to reflect on Horner's exit, sharing: "Of course, it happened at a time when a lot of people didn’t expect it. But at the end of the day, I’m the driver and the management made a decision, and you have to continue.

"When someone like Christian [Horner] has been a part of the team for so long, I guess initially, everyone is a bit like ‘whoa’, but also, everyone has to look ahead. We have to just keep working and get the performance here on track.”

This weekend will mark the first time Verstappen and the team are headed by Laurent Mekies, who steps into his new role as Red Bull's Team Principal and CEO. While they chase track performance and competitiveness, the Milton Keynes outfit will also be eager to quell further doubts about their number one driver's future with the team.