'No idea where they come from' - Verstappen rubbishes Horner exit rumours

Max Verstappen has dismissed claims that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner could be sacked, stating he has "no idea where they come from."

Horner's turbulent period

Horner, who has led the Red Bull F1 team since its inception in 2005, has faced a challenging period both on and off the track recently. Austrian media outlet oe24 reported speculation about Horner's future within the team ahead of Red Bull's 400th F1 race at Imola.

"Honestly, I have no idea where they come from," Verstappen told Sky Italy. "Naturally, I don't really follow a lot of that. So, people ask me questions about that, and I'm like, 'honestly, I really don't know who even puts that in the world.'"

Verstappen acknowledged the team's current performance level but stressed their focus on improvement.

• "Of course, I think naturally, as a team, we are not entirely happy with how we are performing, but we're also working on trying to be more competitive."
• "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."
• "So, for me, these rumours don't mean anything."

Under Horner's leadership, Red Bull has secured six constructors' and eight drivers' championships. Verstappen emphasized that the team's priority is the car's performance, not media reports.

"We just focus on the performance. Where these rumours come from, I have no idea. I don't even know how people can come up with those kind of things," he said. "We want to improve the car, and that's what everyone in the team is focused on."

Car upgrades and competition

Red Bull is currently third in the Constructors' Championship. The team introduced a new floor for Verstappen's car in Miami and is expected to bring further updates to Imola and upcoming European races in Monaco and Spain.

Verstappen described the Imola upgrade as a "little step forward" but doesn't anticipate it closing the significant gap to McLaren, who had a dominant performance in Miami.

• "We have been constantly upgrading the car, trying to find little bits of performance."
• "This track is not suddenly where the magic happens, but of course we would like to be a little bit faster."
• "At the moment, I don't know how much that is going to bring us, to be honest."

Verstappen noted that McLaren's current advantage is unprecedented, surpassing even Red Bull's dominant 2023 season when he won 19 out of 22 races. He added that performance differences can be track-specific, particularly concerning tire degradation.