Inevitably the recent management changes at the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team provided the big talking point at Spa on Thursday, and of course the man we wanted to hear from was Max Verstappen.
Many observers suspect Christian Horner was ousted at least in part as an attempt to keep the Verstappen camp onside, and to help ensure that the Dutchman remains at the team into 2026 and beyond.
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
If that’s the case it was something of a roll of the dice, because any such commitment is far from set in stone, it seems, despite his long-term contract.
When quizzed on 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 that it has 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.”
Verstappen paid tribute to his former boss.
“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, that 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.”
Asked if he was surprised by the Horner news he said: “At the end of the day, I think in this world things like that they can happen. And when they told me, it’s not like they just said this is what we just decided and then you hang up on the phone. You have a conversation about it.
“Now, I don’t need to go into the details of what they said. But it was okay, if you guys think that is the way forward, I’m the driver, you decide, and this is how we’re going to do it.”
Verstappen downplayed the part played in recent events by any conflict between Horner and father Jos, and insisted that the change wouldn’t impact any decision on his future.
“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.”
That suggestion that there is indeed a decision to be made on his future was an intriguing one, given the debate over a potential move to Mercedes.
However when I asked if he there was a chance he would not be at RBR in 2026 and there was an option to go elsewhere he was keen to downplay the idea.
“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 my career.”
Meanwhile Verstappen stressed that it was too early to form any opinions about a different approach from Mekies.
“Time will tell. I cannot say right now within two weeks with not even action on track, that suddenly everything is different or better, but we are trying to be better, and we are trying to work on that.”
He added: “It’s been good. I like Laurent, he’s a very nice guy first of all, very clever guy. He’s been in different areas of the F1 paddock as well, and I think that can be helpful.”
Adam Cooper F1 