“Best Drivers Always Want to Be in the Best Cars”: Christian Horner Dismisses Max Verstappen Exit Rumors

The Red Bull behemoth just keeps destroying. The team took P1 & P2 at both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia with Max Verstappen leading the way for his teammate. They are unbeatable and it’s like they are in another league. The Dutch world champion is on one of the most dominant runs in Formula 1 and so far, shows no sign of halting.

But the situations at Red Bull are tense with Christian Horner’s investigation bringing up quite a cyclone for the team to manage. There have been talks about Helmut Marko leaving the team which sparked rumors of Verstappen planning to make a Mercedes shift. However, Toto Wolff denied the possibility of Verstappen joining his team soon. And now, the Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has come out to explain why the Dutchman would not leave the team.

Christian Horner is confident about his car

Following round 2 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Red Bull’s team principal was questioned about the rumors surrounding Max Verstappen’s possible departure in the post-race interview, as reported by Formule1. “You now have the best car for the second year in a row. Still, there’s the threat of losing your best driver. Toto Wolff (Mercedes team boss) said he would like to have Max. Is the threat of losing Max a realistic one?”

To this Christian Horner answered, “I’m sure everyone in the paddock wants Max in their team. But Toto also once said: The best drivers want to be in the best car. Max has just completed his 56th GP victory and his hundredth podium place. All in Red Bull Racing cars.” Explaining the bond between the team and driver he said, “Together, we perform exceptionally well and everyone has their role to play: all 22 departments. If everyone doesn’t do their job so well, you can’t achieve this kind of performance.”

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In an approach to explain the situation further, Horner added, “But never say never. If a driver doesn’t want to be somewhere, they’ll go somewhere else. But I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to be on this team. Max has great people around him and does a fantastic job in a fantastic car. We are focused on winning. And we’re doing a good job, and we’re doing it again today. I’m aware of all the noise, which has been a distraction for our work. But we are a team.” Thus, the Red Bull TP has silenced transfer rumors. But despite Horner’s say on this if Helmut Marko ends up leaving the team, the star driver could follow.

How is Max Verstappen’s position in Red Bull linked to Helmut Marko?

Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko are extremely close with their time spent in Red Bull. Recently, the team director was under threat of losing his position in the team due to being a suspect in the leaked messages in the Horner Investigation. Along with that came rumors of Max Verstappen moving started to surface.

This had fans wondering if this would be the end of Max Verstappen’s time at Red Bull. Although Max Verstappen’s contract is set to last till 2028, Helmut Marko leaving the team will give him a chance to exit his current deal. This is because of the exit clause in the contract, which states that Verstappen can break the contract in case Marko leaves.

While the rumors of Max Verstappen’s move to Mercedes were at their peak, Helmut Marko came forth to say that if the driver wanted to change his team, the 80-year-old would not get in his way. That being said, do you think things at Red Bull will settle down soon or will Max Verstappen move to Mercedes in 2025? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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