Verstappen ponders Red Bull’s post-Horner era

There was only ever going to be one topic of discussion for anyone linked to Red Bull as the paddock reconvened in Spa-Francorchamps on Thursday.

The 2025 Belgian Grand Prix is already a race weekend for the history books, as it will be the first Formula 1 race that Red Bull enters without Christian Horner as its team principal. Horner’s reign came to an end after the last race at Silverstone, catching many by surprise as to the timing of the decision from Red Bull’s shareholders.

Many, but not all.

“Surprised… At the end of the day, I think in this world, things like that, they can happen,” Max Verstappen said. “And when they told me … it’s not like they just said, ‘This is what we just decided’ and then they hung up the phone. You have a conversation about it.

“Now, I don’t need to go into detail what they said, but I said ‘OK, if you guys think that this is the way forward, I’m the driver, you decide’. And this is how we’re going to do it.”

Perhaps Verstappen was always likely to be least surprised, given the close working knowledge he has of Red Bull’s declining form. The Dutchman’s future has been the center of speculation for a number of years, as has his father’s relationship with Horner, but he distanced himself from any direct influence on the situation. Instead, he was open in his appraisal of Red Bull’s current situation and wanted to give credit to Horner’s record as team principal and CEO.

“Management and of course the shareholders decided that they wanted a change. And at the end of the day, they run the team, and I’m the driver,” he said. “So whatever they decide, it’s fully in their right to do what they want. And that’s basically how it happened.

“At the same time, now, sitting here, you look back at those 20 years of Red Bull, I think we’ve had a lot of great years, and great results. Now, of course there are also years where it’s not going that well, and I think the last one and a half years have not gone how we would have liked.

“Management decided they wanted to steer the ship in a different direction, probably, and then everyone else has to anyway agree to that and look forward. And I am looking forward.

“Of course, I had already quite a few meetings with Laurent [Mekies, Horner’s replacement as team principal] as well. The last two weeks have been quite intense for him to jump in. But I’m also equally excited for the team now moving forward because that’s what we have to do.

“Looking back doesn’t make sense. It’s not going to make you faster. But at the same time, we do appreciate, of course, those 20 years. And especially from my side, the 10, 11 years that I’ve been part of Red Bull.

“Those things will always be remembered. And the relationship between myself and Christian, for example, that doesn’t change. Of course, he’s not here now during a race weekend. But it’s still like a second family to me.”

Verstappen has consistently hauled his Red Bull higher up the order than his teammates suggest it’s capable of, but is his patience wearing thin? Clive Mason/Getty Images

Verstappen has been steadfast in his comments this year when it comes to what he wants from Red Bull, which is a more competitive car. He’s also constantly reiterated the need to work together as a team and make steps in the right direction.

But recently, that has been overshadowed by the lack of a dismissal when questioned about a potential move to Mercedes. Chances to commit his future to Red Bull have come and gone, to the extent that some quarters directly correlate the Horner removal to a desire from Red Bull’s owners to try and keep Verstappen.

His future still remains uncertain, but Verstappen was keen to point out that it is linked to the team’s fortunes, and not the person in charge.

“No, it doesn’t really [make any difference to his staying or leaving],” Verstappen said. “Now, I think people can have a difference of opinion here and there – and I actually expect that to happen because if everyone always agrees, there is a problem. You need to have difference of opinions. And that’s now something that we work with in a different direction. I’m excited about it.

“I don’t think it will matter at all for my decision in the future. The only thing that matters is that we work on the car and make it as fast as we can make it, really. And like I said, the last one and a half years have not been what we want to be. Now we try and be more competitive this year a little bit, but for sure also with the new regulations.”Although Verstappen references the past 18 months, on Thursday he appeared very keen to look forward. He spoke to having multiple discussions with new team principal Mekies to help him settle in during such an intense period, and his motivation to improve Red Bull’s current direction.

Horner’s departure was a seismic moment in the history of Red Bull Racing, but the four-time world champion says it has had little impact on the operation and mood within the team.

“I think [the atmosphere] has been good. Of course, when there is a change like that, on the first day, people are a bit like, ‘OK, what’s happening?’ Luckily, also, on the day after the announcement I was at the factory doing my simulator stuff. You just go back to work.

“We have to work on performance, setting up the car here, making sure that everything is correlated in the best way possible. You just focus on that. At the end of the day, that’s my job. That’s the engineers’ job as well. It’s about trying to find as much performance as possible. That’s what we’re going for.”

Despite a clear desire to look to the future under new leadership at Red Bull, Verstappen still can’t escape questions about his own contract intentions. Shortly after Horner’s departure was announced, Verstappen was in Sardinia at the same time as Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, and neither has denied meeting, even if they insist the situation was coincidental.

“Well, I was swimming in the ocean at the time [of the rumors of a meeting]. I don’t know – I don’t really care about these things,” Verstappen said. “I went on holiday with my friends, my family. There are more people on the island than just me and Toto and the family. If you go to the same island, that can happen.”

Thursday’s comments felt like an attempt to move on from the Horner removal as quickly as possible, and perhaps represent a switch that gives Verstappen hope of a turnaround in form over the longer-term. But if Red Bull’s owners hoped recent developments would end any threat of losing their star driver, they’re going to have to wait for the impact of the change in leadership to bear fruit.