Verstappen changes his tune… “My next move…” – Since the sacking of Christian Horner just days after the British Grand Prix, the great and the good from the paddock have been parsing the tea leaves in an attempt to understand how all this affects the future of world champion Max Verstappen. One report from Germany suggested that Verstappen wold be holding a press conference this weekend in Spa, where he would reveal he was leaving his Red Bull family to join the Mercedes F1 team.
Were this to be the case, then the consensus view would shift towards the notion that Max leaving the team was representative of the view that the rats are leaving the sinking ship – following Horner’s swift exit.
Verstappen visits Milton Keynes after Horner’s departure
The other side of the argument reads that Horner was part of the problem for the Verstappen camp and his departure now means the threat of the world champion quitting his contract early has now abated.
In a short but touching post on social media, Max Verstappen marked the departure of his F1 team boss as follows: “From my first race win, to four world championships, we have shared incredible successes. Winning memorable races and breaking countless records. Thank you for everything, Christian!”
And in another short pre-prepared statement for F1.com, the world champion addresses his love for the circuit in Spa Francorchamps adding simply: “I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the sim with the Team and I’m looking forward to working closely with Laurent.”
Verstappen has not been scheduled by the FIA to attend the Thursday press conference and the team have confirmed he will only be delivering an informal chat with journalists at the Red Bull Energy Station tomorrow. It appears Verstppen will not be making a big announcement on his much rumoured move to Mercedes, which will merely serve to stoke the fires of speculation that his break clause can only be activated come the F1 summer break.
Mekies to face the F1 lions den
Max has been dodging the speculation over his future by hiding behind a statement he made some years ago, where he claimed he wished to complete his entire F1 career at Red Bull Racing. Yet Verstappen has also continued to fan the conspiracy theories by not just stating clearly he will be at Red Bull next season.
The FIA have invited Laurent Mekies to attend the team principals press conference to be held on Friday, following the weekends only practice session and immediately prior to Sprint qualifying. Yet unlike in the Horner era, this will almost certainly be a dull affair, with Mekies sticking to the corporate line his Austrian overlords wish him to present.
In the Frenchman’s favour is the fact that Red Bull have been in decline performance wise now for some 18 months, so were Verstappen to have a disaster in the upcoming race weekend, the sudden change in leadership will not be questioned from a performance point of view.
Verstappen continues to fuel rumours over his future, although the smart money would be on him remaining at Red Bull to see which team aces the 2026 regulations. A move to Mercedes together with the expected multi-year contract, may prove in twelve months time not to have been the right decision.
Max admits a “move” is possible
Yet with George Russell still without a contract extension, despite his heroic performances for the team this season, Toto Wolff is playing his part in the “where’s Max going” debate which consumes the paddock each and every race weekend. However, there has been a change in the ‘mood music’ with Verstappen speaking to Sky Italia where he stated: “My next step, if there is one, will be my last. But it could also mean that I renew my current contract. Everything is still possible at this time.”
No longer is the defence, ‘I have a contract with Red Bull until 2028’ being touted, but Max acknowledges now that a move from his Red Bull family could well be on the cards – even if this statement is qualified. Before the sacking of Horner, Verstappen’s last stated position was he wanted to not become a journeyman F1 driver, as has Fernando Alonso, moving from team to team in an attempt to second guess who will build the fastest car in a given season.
“I have been part of this team for a long time. In the end, every driver on the grid wants to win. It is very easy to change teams, but I don’t want my career to be marked in this way. I don’t want to be part of four or five different teams,” he said.
“I want to build a long and stable relationship with everyone on the team and I want to feel at home somewhere. Changing teams is not really my thing and it’s not something I want to do at this stage of my career.”
Verstappen’s “favourite” race track in Spa
Yet with the departure of Horner, its all change in Milton Keynes and it could be in the new corporate structures the Austrian onward put in place, Verstappen loses that family feel he has become accustomed to. He may never be able to recreate with another F1 team, the special position he has held at Red Bull Racing.
Having a Belgian mother, the weekend in Spa is like a second home race for the world champion, at an old fashioned kind of circuit which he clearly loves. “Spa is a classic and always my favourite track on the calendar; a very old school circuit where you have to do everything right to get a good lap,” said the world champion to f1.com
“I enjoy the high-speed corners such as Eau Rouge, the layout which is different to other circuits and elevation changes that make the track more of a challenge to drive.” Last time out Verstappen snatched a surprise pole position from the McLaren pair, but the decision to set his car up for low downforce conditions played well on Saturday, but was a disaster in the rain on Sunday.
“Silverstone wasn’t our best performance but it was a promising step to put it on Pole in Qualifying,” the world champion concluded.
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Red Bull Racing was formed from the ashes of the latest efforts of auto giant Ford to compete at the highest level of motorsport. The Stewart F1 team was acquired by the US car manufacturer in 1999 for a reported $100m and Ford planned to build a state of the art facility in Silverstone to house both its chassis and proposed power unit operations.
As with many things Jaguar F1, this never happened and the team remained at its base in Milton Keynes. In a reflective editorial piece written in 2023, Motor Sport claimed that Jaguar was “one of the most high-profile failures in F1,” with “a revolving door of management that made Jaguar Racing look like an employment bureau rather than a slick F1 team.”
Things would change quickly once the energy drink entrepreneur appointed the youngest F1 team principal in Christie Horner (31) who immediately brought back the team’s previous boss Guenther Steiner to assist in rebuilding the team. Yet once the appointment of Adrian Newey was secured later in 2005, Didi Mateschitz approached the Italian to lead their NASCAR effort in the USA…. READ MORE
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