Formula 1 News: Verstappen meets the press at Spa (Update)
Max Verstappen says Christian Horner’s shock dismissal will not affect his future – insisting Red Bull must now focus on performance and “looking ahead” under new team boss Laurent Mekies.
Speaking at Spa-Francorchamps on Thursday, Verstappen addressed the long-rumoured power struggle that culminated in Horner’s ousting – a move reportedly driven by Red Bull’s Austrian leadership and key Verstappen allies, including Helmut Marko and father Jos Verstappen.
“In Formula 1, the changes are like football,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung. “If things don’t work out, the coach simply has to go.”
Verstappen told a huge gaggle of journalists at Spa: “If you look back on the more than 20 years of Red Bull Racing, you can see that we’ve had many great years with strong results.
“Of course, there were also times when things weren’t going so well, and I think the last year and a half haven’t gone as planned.
“Management has decided that a different direction is needed, and everyone else has to agree and look forward. And I’m looking forward.”
Verstappen said he learned of Horner’s dismissal “maybe half a day beforehand” from shareholders Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya. “They run the team, and I am the driver. It’s their right to do what they want,” he said.
Asked if the removal of Horner would impact his commitment to the team, Verstappen replied: “It has no influence on what I’m doing. From my side, there’s nothing to say about my future. I’m happy with where I’m at.”
He added: “There’s also a possibility I won’t wake up tomorrow. Life is unpredictable. Overall, I’m just happy where I am. The goal was always to finish my career here.”
Still, Verstappen has not confirmed his plans beyond 2025 even internally, and according to De Telegraaf, an exit clause linked to championship standing remains active until the summer break.
When asked directly about reports linking him to Mercedes, Verstappen played it down with a shrug, including his reported meet-up with Toto Wolff in Sardinia.
“I was on vacation with friends and family. If other people happen to be there at the same time, yeah, that can happen,” said the quadruple world champion.
On the obvious tension between Horner and his father Jos, Verstappen admitted: “Arguments like that are not nice and unnecessary. But people can have different opinions – and if everyone agrees, then there’s a problem.”
Despite speculation, Verstappen maintains that his relationship with Horner remains intact.
“I’ve spoken to Christian. I spoke to him even today,” Verstappen said. “That relationship will never change. We’ve experienced so many things together… From my side, the team feels like a second family, and Christian is included in that.”
Verstappen also praised Mekies, who officially takes over at Spa: “I like Laurent. He’s a nice guy and a very smart person. The last two weeks have been quite intense for him, but he’s incredibly motivated. You can see the fire burning inside him.”
Marko, speaking to Kleine Zeitung, defended the leadership transition. “The transition went very well. Laurent knows people, he approaches people. Hopefully that will have a positive effect,” he said, dismissing rumors of internal resignations.
“Mekies has already adjusted a few details in the simulator preparation. He focuses more on the racing action and is less involved in other departments. His responsibilities as team principal have been reduced compared to Horner’s.”
Mekies himself told F1.com that the team remains fully aligned behind Verstappen.
“Red Bull is hugely committed to Max,” he said. “He is central to the project, and we need his magic at the racetrack. The best way to show that commitment is by giving him the best possible car.”
This weekend, Red Bull has introduced a new front wing at Spa – part of what Marko described as a critical update to “close the gap” to rivals.
“It’s also one of Max’s favourite tracks, where his exceptional talent shines through,” Marko added. “We hope to be right up there with the frontrunners.”
Even Lewis Hamilton weighed in on Horner’s exit, calling it “remarkable what he did with the team” and noting their long history. “I wouldn’t say we hit it off from the get-go,” Hamilton said of an early meeting in 2005. “But clearly, he ran the organisation with talent and skill. I wish him all the best.”
As for Verstappen, he remains focused – but noncommittal.
“We have to just keep working and get the performance here on track,” he said. “There’s no point in looking back. It doesn’t make you faster.”
July 24, 2025
After F1 Team boss Christian Horner was ousted by Red Bull, all the journalists were anxious to talk to the star F1 driver, Max Verstappen, at Spa Francorchamps Thursday.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Many observers suspect Christian Horner was ousted, at least in part, as an attempt to prevent Max Verstappen from leaving the team, especially since Verstappen’s father Jos, was not happy with Horner and called for him to resign on more than one occasion.
When asked about Horner’s departure, Verstappen was adamant that the decision to oust Horner was made by the parent company in order “to steer the ship in a different direction” – and that just like everyone else in the team, he was informed after it happened and was obliged to accept it and move on.
“At the end of the day management and of course the shareholders decided that they wanted a change,” he said.
“And at the end of the day, they run the team. And I’m the driver, so whatever they decide, it’s fully in their right to do what they want. And that’s basically how it happened.
“And 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, great years, great, great results. Now, naturally, of course, 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, and management decided they wanted to steer the ship in a different direction, probably.
“And then everyone else, of course, 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] as well. The last two weeks have been quite intense for him to jump in.”
“I’m equally also excited for the team now moving forward, because that’s what we have to do,” he said. “Looking back doesn’t make sense. It’s not going to make you faster.
“But at the same time you do appreciate, of course, those 20 years, and especially from my side, the 10-11, years, I mean, part of Red Bull. Those things will be remembered.
“And the relationship between myself and Christian, for example, doesn’t change. Of course, he’s not here now or during a race weekend, but it’s still like a second family to me.”
“I think people can have a difference in opinion here and then. And I actually expect that to happen, because if everyone always agrees, there is a problem, you need to have difference in opinions. And yeah, 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, you know, for my decision in the future. At the end 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 where we want to be.
“Now, we try and be more competitive this year, a little bit, but for sure, also with the new regulations.”
When asked by Adam Cooper if there was a chance he would not be at Red Bull Racing in 2026 and whether there was an option to go elsewhere, he said:
“There’s also a possibility I don’t wake up tomorrow, that there is no driving at all!,” he joked. “So life is unpredictable. But in general, I’m very happy where I’m at, and I hope and that was still the target that we set out when we signed a new deal, that I would drive here until the end of 2028.”
According to Dutch Journalist Erik van Haren, Max still hasn’t internally confirmed he will be staying with Red Bull.
He still wants to see if the team can make progress and the (unconfirmed) performance clause in his contract regarding his position in the standings in the summer break.