Thursday’s media day ahead of the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was dominated by speculation over Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull. With senior advisor Helmut Marko expressing his concern that the four-time Drivers’ champion might leave the team, and reports emerging of Aston Martin making a shocking offer for his services, the driver used the FIA Press Conference to pour cold water on the rumors.
Christian Horner squashes speculation over Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future as ‘noise’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was adamant at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that Max Verstappen is not going anywhere
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Friday gave Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner a chance to do the same.
Speaking with Sky Sports F1 the Red Bull boss described the rumors as “noise,” and was adamant that Verstappen would be back with the team next year.
“Noise is exactly the right word to describe it. There’s been a lot of noise outside of the team,” said Horner.
“Max reaffirmed his commitment yesterday. We are focused on making the car go faster, that’s where our focus is. Max is a part of that, he’s a committed member of the team. The rest is all speculation.”
When asked directly if Verstappen would be with Red Bull in 2026, Horner did not hesitate.
“Yes, absolutely,” came the response.
The recent round of speculation came after a difficult week for the team at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which saw their first double-points result of the season, but Verstappen left fighting for sixth place against Pierre Gasly on the final lap of the race. While the Red Bull driver was able to win that battle, there was tension in the paddock after the race, and reports of a “crisis summit” among high-ranking team officials.
Horner brushed those reports aside as well.
“It was not a crisis summit. If you sit down with your engineers and discuss the race, I wouldn’t describe that as a crisis summit,” said Horner.
“We have lots of meetings. You sit down and discuss these things logically. There’s always engineering solutions to engineering issues.
“We are not where we want to be. We have got some issues with the car that we are working through and the whole team is working hard. We know what the issues are, it’s introducing a series of upgrades over the coming races to address some of those shortcomings.”
Horner’s comments to Sky Sports F1 came following the first practice session in Jeddah, which saw Verstappen finish in P9 and teammate Yuki Tsunoda right behind him in P10. The Red Bull Team Principal noted that the team is trying some new things at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and that they are trying to be a “little radical” with their approach.
“We are trying a few different things this weekend, so that session was all about trying to be a little radical with some of the set-up,” added Horner.
“We have plenty to look at and ran the cars differently in first practice.”
The second practice session in Saudi Arabia begins momentarily, but whether this ends the speculation over Verstappen’s future remains to be seen.
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