Red Bull boss Christian Horner has hit back at Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff’s pursuit of Max Verstappen, citing the team is “behind their customers” in Formula 1.
Mercedes is assessing the options to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton in 2025, with Wolff reiterating on several occasions that Verstappen tops his shortlist.
Although Verstappen retains a contract through 2028, speculation has surrounded the Dutchman’s future since an investigation into Horner’s behaviour was initiated.
But Horner has denied that Verstappen, who continued his dominant start to the term with a fourth win in five races in China, won’t be with the Austrian outfit in 2025.
Asked about Verstappen not pledging 100% commitment, Horner told The Race: “I can assure you there is no ambiguity as to where Max Verstappen will be next year.”
Wolff continued his public attempts to entice Verstappen to make a blockbuster switch in Shanghai despite Mercedes encountering another challenging race weekend.
The Austrian, 52, dismissed the squad’s current uncompetitive position in comparison to Red Bull, citing there will be “other factors” that will dictate Verstappen’s future.
“I’m going to think carefully about what I say here,” Horner said when questioned on his opposite number’s latest remark.
“Have you spoken to Max about this? Because if you speak to Max – and it’s not about pieces of paper at the end of the day, we know that he has a contract to the end of 2028 – it’s about how he feels in the team and the relationship he has in the team and the way he’s performing.
“I don’t think Toto’s problems are his drivers. I think he’s probably got other elements that he needs to be focusing on rather than focusing on drivers that are unavailable.”
Horner has urged Wolff to shift his attention to Mercedes’ worst start to an F1 season since 2011 rather than seeking to disrupt Red Bull with talk about Verstappen.
“We moved ahead of the number of races that Mercedes have won in the modern era, so the team is in form, why on earth would you want to leave this team?” he queried.
“Mercedes are the third team behind their customers at the moment, so I would think his time would be better spent perhaps focusing on the team rather than the driver market.
“Have any of you heard George Russell is out of contract at the end of ’25? You know, maybe he might not be so keen to stay in ’26, the market moves around.”
Pressed on whether Verstappen could put an end to Wolff’s hounding, Horner said: “I don’t know how many more times he needs to say it. He said it numerous times.
“I’m not going get drawn into it – I think sometimes it’s just designed to create noise.”
