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Horner sees the vultures: 'They have Verstappen on their wish list'
- Ludo van Denderen
Max Verstappen will start his tenth season at Red Bull Racing in 2025. No one will dispute that this has been a particularly successful period, a period that has seen him seal four drivers titles. Verstappen has become the absolute top driver in Formula 1 with, and partly thanks to, the Austrian team. His team boss Christian Horner therefore realises he has absolute gold in his hands.
For a while during the 2024 season, several rumours had Verstappen moving teams elsewhere on the grid. There was uncertainty surrounding the tenure of his mentor Helmut Marko, as well as the comparatively slower RB20. However, Horner never felt Verstappen would actually leave Red Bull.
"His dedication has been unwavering," the British team boss believes in conversation with Motorsport. "He enjoys. the people that he trusts and the people that he works with and enjoys very much being a part of this team."
Horner does not see Verstappen's need to leave
Still, there were the rumours and links with Mercedes, the team that saw Verstappen as Lewis Hamilton's successor. Toto Wolff, the German team's CEO and team boss, never made a secret of wanting to recruit Verstappen. So in the end, the Austrian missed out on Verstappen, who stayed with Red Bull.
"Of course, with the talent that he has, I'm sure he's on every team principal’s Christmas wish list. That’s inevitable. But, as long as we can continue to provide him with a competitive car and an environment that he enjoys racing in, I don't see any desire for him to be anywhere else," is Horner's belief.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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