Christian Horner's exit from Red Bull F1 puts Max Verstappen's future under spotlight amid Mercedes rumours; will he leave or stay?

Time of India

09-07-2025

Christian Horner's sudden exit from Red Bull F1 after nearly 20 long years as the team principal on Wednesday, July 9, has left the F1 community and fans in shock. However, amid all this, all the spotlight is now on Max Verstappen. Since early 2024, rumours have been linked that Verstappen might move away from Milton Keynes, despite his contract extending till 2028. Top teams, including Mercedes and Aston Martin, are believed to be monitoring his situation. Well, after Horner's sacking, fans have sparked discussion on what this means for Max. Let's find out.
Christian Horner's sacking comes after a double-header of F1 races at the Austrian and British Grand Prix, where Red Bull underperformed compared to Sauber, leaving them a slight chance of winning either championship. This led to issues in the Red Bull team, as the chiefs were unimpressed at the Austrian Grand Prix, and that appeared to be the beginning of the end for Horner, reported F1 Oversteer.
On the other hand, both Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda failed to score points at the Red Bull Ring. Netizens extensively discussed Max Verstappen's future on Reddit; one wrote, "So what does this mean for Max? Rumours say Jos and Marko wanted Horner gone so Max stays. But on the other hand, Red Bull might be fucked without Horner, so he might move to Mercedes. I don't know what to think."
While another added, "Yeah it's all a mess atm, there's also reports that Mercedes has been given Green light to sign Max right around the time that Horner is sacked. Idk whether it's coincidence or just targetting max at the right moment"
David Coulthard saw Max Verstappen's British GP as positive before Christian Horner's sack
Verstappen once again demonstrated his skills by securing pole position for Red Bull, while Tsunoda was prevented from reaching Q3 due to a power problem during his final flying lap. However, there were issues in Verstappen's car that made for a challenging race in the wet conditions at Silverstone, and Tsunoda ended up finishing at the back of the field.
Following this, David Coulthard immediately reacted to the race result and thought Verstappen's post-grand prix comments might be positive for Horner. However, unfortunately, just a few days later, Horner got sacked by Red Bull.
Could Max Verstappen leave Red Bull after Christian Horner's Red Bull sack?
According to Coulthard, who was quoted in the F1 OverSteer report, he was assured after the race at Silverstone that Horner had nothing to worry about when it came to Verstappen's future. However, nobody thought about Horner's sudden sacking by Red Bull, falling behind McLaren, and failing to find a suitable teammate for Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Mercedes has been keeping their options open to sign Verstappen, as neither George Russell nor Andrea Kimi Antonelli is secured for 2026. Also, there have been a few suggestions that one of the conditions for Verstappen to stay at Red Bull was Horner's departure, and it will be interesting to see how the driver market develops in the coming weeks.
Could the feud between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner play a catalyst?
Apart from the other rumours, there were also reports that during the investigation, Horner's behaviour made it clear that there had been a power struggle between Horner and the parent company, Red Bull GMBH, with Jos Verstappen, the father of Max Verstappen, who openly called out for Horner's removal, reported The Guardian.
However, according to Sky Sports, Martin Brundle believes Max Verstappen is more likely to stay at Red Bull for now.