Max Verstappen has been a blessing for Red Bull ever since he joined the team. He was the youngest driver to race in Formula One. Initially, the Dutch racer joined the sister team of the Austrian outfit, Toro Rosso, now called RB. But looking at his pace and progress, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko wasted no time to bring him to the main team. However, it was not an easy way to get the title for the Milton Keynes team and the Dutchman. After all, Mercedes dominated the turbo-hybrid era. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton was the most dominant racer with those turbo-hybrid engines. However, it was not until 2021 that Hamilton and the Mercedes domination lasted. That very year, Max Verstappen did the unthinkable.
He beat the seven-time champion narrowly, who was on his way to winning a fifth title in a row and overall eighth. But that’s when the “Verstappen era” began. Since 2021, the Dutch racer has never had to look back. He went on to win two more titles in the following years. Coming to 2024, Max is going really strong in his pursuit of his fourth title. Clearly, in the cost cap era, the Dutchman is the most dominant racer. But there have been rumors that Mercedes was looking to land Max as Hamilton’s replacement in 2025. Lately, Christian Horner fired at Toto Wolff for trying to poach Max.
Horner Fired At Wolff For Trying To Poach Max Verstappen From Red Bull
According to The Guardian, Christian Horner mentioned that he doesn’t think drivers are the problems for the Mercedes boss. Moreover, Horner thinks Toto Wolff has other issues to focus on. On top of that, the Red Bull team principal mentioned that it is better for Wolff to stop focusing on drivers who are not available. At present, Mercedes is behind McLaren and Ferrari but narrowly ahead of Aston Martin. That’s why Horner said Mercedes is behind their customer teams at present. Hence, the Red Bull boss mentioned that Wolff should spend his precious time focusing on the team instead of the driver’s market.
Generally, these rumors only create noise but never really turn out to be true. Moreover, Christian Horner mentioned, “There is no ambiguity as to where Max will be in 2025.” Adding to that, Horner said the Dutch racer has mentioned several times that he is staying at Red Bull. Moreover, in recent times, Horner’s team moved ahead of Wolff’s team in terms of the number of races won in the cost cap era. Clearly, the team is in good form. Hence, Christian Horner wonders why Max Verstappen would want to leave. But the Dutchman earlier had hinted his switch to any other team if Red Bull lets Helmut Marko go.
The Dutchman Wants “A Quiet And Peaceful Environment”
Max Verstappen is under contract till 2028 with the Austrian outfit. His life turned upside down when he joined Horner’s team. In fact, his career trajectory has been only going up since he won his maiden title in 2021. However, the recent rumors surrounding an internal power struggle at Red Bull have messed up the team environment.
Albeit, the team has been seeing no drop in their performance level. Max Verstappen made his opinion very clear from the very start: if Helmut Marko leaves the Austrian team, then he will leave, too. All he wants is a quiet and peaceful environment in a team for his F1 future.
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