Max Verstappen is still the leader in the Driver’s standings. Again, he is the reason why Red Bull is on the top of the constructor standings. Sergio Perez has been inconsistent yet again. That has been causing problems for the Austrian outfit because the ongoing season has not been as easy as last season. In 2023, Christian Horner’s team managed to win 21 of 22 races. On the other hand, in the current season, the reigning champions have won seven races already. But they have faced a lot more competition from other teams than they could possibly imagine.
For instance, Ferrari and Mercedes have won two races each and McLaren has won a race too so far. There are still 12 more races to go this season, and things can get tougher for Horner’s side in the latter half. Moreover, there have been rumours that the reigning triple-time champion racer can move to Mercedes. But lately, Christian Horner revealed that their team’s work on the RBR Powertrain project is helping gain Verstappen’s trust more than ever.
Red Bull Boss Reveals Why Max Verstappen Will Possibly Stick With Them
Recently, in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com, Christian Horner mentioned that they always keep Max Verstappen updated. Moreover, the team principal added that every time the Dutch racer visits the Powertrains unit, “He sees more progress as more engine running.” On top of that, Horner revealed what he finds quite exciting. He said that Max is very much part of their new journey of developing the new Powertrain units.
Moreover, the team principal feels that Verstappen shows great interest in the development that is happening at the moment. Also, Horner says that this nature of the reigning champion goes back to his karting days. Max Verstappen was keen on seeing the engine tuning back then. Adding to that, the Red Bull boss mentioned, “It just gives Max a lot of confidence when he gets to see how big the investment is as well as the effort.” Moreover, Christian Horner claims that it has been the biggest single investment, the Austrian company has ever made in motorsport.
From F1 2026 onwards, Red Bull and Ford will start their partnership in becoming a power unit manufacturer in their own right. In 2026, F1 will introduce new regulations that might see another change in hegemony. Mercedes is pretty confident about getting back to F1 domination like they had since 2014 regulation changes. That’s why there has been a rumor suggesting a Mercedes move for Verstappen. On top of that, Toto Wolff made it clear that he would love to see Max replace Hamilton in the upcoming years. But Horner believes Verstappen trusts the work going behind their development of the powertrains project.
Mercedes Boss Believes They Need To Prove That They Can Start Winning Consistently Again
Last year, Mercedes was winless. In 2022, they managed to win only a single race in Brazil. Their star driver Lewis Hamilton stayed winless for 945 days until he won the 2024 British Grand Prix. Prior to that, Hamilton’s teammate George Russell managed to win the Austrian GP to end the win drought of the team. Hence, Toto Wolff told the media, including PlanetF1.com, that they need to see what they can do to win regularly. Albeit, the Mercedes team principal would like to sign Max Verstappen or Lando Norris as Hamilton’s replacement in the next or two years.
But he says that the Dutch racer must not make a Mercedes move until the team proves that they can win consistently again. Wolff says they must make sure that they have a car that would make them the best destination for the best drivers. Until then, he added, “If I was Max, I would not make a move to the Silver Arrows.”
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