Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has asserted that his team hasn`t “suddenly become idiots overnight.” He made these comments while attempting to explain why Max Verstappen would choose to remain with the team despite ongoing speculation linking the world champion to a move to Mercedes.
Verstappen`s incredible streak of four consecutive drivers` championships is likely to conclude this year. McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have established a dominant position at the forefront of the standings as the Formula 1 season nears its halfway point.
On Friday, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed he is engaged in “conversations” about potentially signing Verstappen, even though the Dutch driver is under contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season.
Speaking after a challenging Austrian Grand Prix, where Verstappen was forced to retire after a first-lap collision, Horner elaborated on his belief that the 27-year-old retains faith in the Red Bull team.
“I still believe that we have strength in depth in this team,” Horner stated. “Unfortunately, we haven`t seen the performance come that we would like. We`re at the end of a set of regulations, and I think we are compromised by some of the tools that we have.”
He continued, “But it`s the same fundamental group of people that 18 months ago designed a car that won every single grand prix bar one. They didn`t suddenly just become idiots overnight.” Horner also acknowledged the strong performance of a rival team, adding, “You have to acknowledge the great job that McLaren are doing, and congratulations to them.”
Mercedes` Own Challenges
Toto Wolff had previously seemed to back away from pursuing Verstappen after Lewis Hamilton`s high-profile transfer to Ferrari for 2025 was confirmed last year. However, Mercedes driver George Russell suggested on Thursday that the delay in confirming his own contract extension might be due to his team evaluating their prospects with Verstappen. Wolff subsequently largely agreed with Russell`s assessment.
Asked about the impact of a disappointing result at Red Bull`s home race – particularly with the speculation around Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda finishing last among drivers who completed the race – Horner was dismissive of Mercedes` position.
He responded, “I think they [Mercedes] have got their own problems. They were 62 seconds behind the race leader today.”
Horner emphasized Red Bull`s focus: “For us, we just focus on ourselves. We know what the situation is with Max. We know what the contracts are with Max, and you know the rest is all noise that`s not coming from here.”
Regarding the performance disparity between his drivers, Horner described Tsunoda`s race as “horrible” and admitted the team would continue investigating why Verstappen`s recent teammates have struggled significantly to match his pace.
“Yuki had a horrible race,” Horner reiterated. “Again, it started to go wrong for him in Q1 yesterday… and then qualified badly, and then was running in traffic, unable to pass, then picks up a penalty. It just compounds things.” He acknowledged the “big delta between the two cars” and confirmed, “Of course, internally, we ask all of those questions that, no doubt you ask, in terms of why. Obviously, the car has evolved over the years in a specific direction.” He concluded, “We`ll see if we can help Yuki and rebuild his confidence in Silverstone.”
Verstappen: Title Aspirations Diminished?
After colliding with Mercedes` Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap in Austria, which resulted in his first retirement in 32 races, Verstappen is now 61 points adrift in the Drivers` Championship standings.
For several races, Verstappen has indicated that he didn`t feel truly part of the title contention this year given McLaren`s strong form. Following the damaging result on Sunday, the Dutch driver told Sky Sports F1, “Hopefully, then people will not mention it too much anymore.”
He concluded with a pragmatic outlook: “We try to do our best, always. My mentality doesn`t change. We`ve won a lot in the past. Sometimes you have to accept that you are not winning, and we just try to do the best that we can.”
