28/06/2025 19:00
Christian Horner has dismissed the persistent speculation
surrounding Max Verstappen's F1 future as "a lot of noise." The Red
Bull team principal appears unfazed by the media frenzy surrounding
the four-time F1 drivers' champion and rumours linking him to
Mercedes, claiming Verstappen finds it "a bit annoying" as well.
The subject has been a major talking point since early last year,
but with the topic bubbling away on the back burner for much of the
season so far, it has been reinvigorated by George Russell claiming
his team is engaged in talks with the Dutchman. Although one of the
stand-out performers in F1 this season, the British driver has yet
to be offered a new deal by Toto Wolff and is out of contract with
Mercedes at the end of the current campaign. It leaves him under a
cloud of uncertainty. However, he insists he is not worried due to
the form he is showing. Wolff, meanwhile, has repeatedly called his
current line-up "perfect" over the weekend in Spielberg. It is
widely expected that Kimi Antonelli would be the one to stay if
Verstappen could be lured away from Red Bull. The boss of the
Brackley-based squad is known to be a long-term admirer of the
65-time grand prix winner and refused to shut down the speculation
at the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull's home race. When Horner was
asked about the situation, he batted away any concern, presenting
himself as unbothered by the issue. "It's a lot of noise. I think
Max gets quite annoyed by it," the 51-year-old told Sky Sports F1
after qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. "We're very clear with the
contract that we have with Max until 2028, so anything is entirely
speculative that is being said. But we tend not to pay too much
attention to it." When it was questioned whether he felt it was
underhanded to allow the situation to engulf the F1 paddock at a
rival team's home grand prix, Horner took a shot at Mercedes and
Russell. "I can imagine that George is frustrated," the Briton
said. "He hasn't been given a contract yet, but that's between him
and his team. "But the situation with Max, we know clearly where
we're at, and obviously, as does Max. "So everything is subject to
noise, and obviously, within any contract, it remains confidential
between the parties."
