Max Verstappen has repudiated that Red Bull boss Christian Horner could be sacked if the team’s fortunes do not improve at Formula 1‘s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Despite managing the sole non-McLaren win to date this season through Verstappen in Japan, Red Bull’s start to the campaign has been the team’s worst since 2019.
Red Bull lags a gargantuan 141 points behind leaders McLaren in third place in the Constructors’ Championship, while Verstappen has a 32-point gap to Oscar Piastri.
That has prompted renewed rumours that Verstappen, whose deal with Red Bull contains exit clauses related to his position in the standings, might depart elsewhere.
The reports surrounding a potential Verstappen move date back to 2024, when an internal probe into Horner caused the Dutchman’s father to demand his resignation.
But while Horner was cleared and remained at the helm, the turmoil attached to the saga preceded a sharp decline in performance and multiple senior figures leaving.
Amid the team’s dwindling title prospects in 2025, there has been growing speculation that Horner’s future will depend on the upgrades Red Bull has brought to Imola.
“Honestly, I have no idea where they come from, to be honest,” the Dutchman retorted to F1 TV. “Naturally, I don’t really follow a lot of that all.
“So people ask me questions as well about that and I’m like, ‘honestly, I really don’t know who even puts that in the world’.”
Red Bull focused on improving RB21
Verstappen reiterated that Red Bull’s attention is fixated on addressing the inherent quirks within the RB21 that have thwarted the team’s desire to challenge McLaren.
“Of course, I think naturally as a team we’re not entirely happy with how we are performing, but we’re also working on trying to be more competitive,” he continued.
“But naturally, if you ask everyone this question, I think no one is happy or satisfied with their performance.
“You always want to be better, you want to perform more. That’s what we try to do. So these rumours, they don’t mean anything.”
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