Max Verstappen on F1 without former team principal Christian Horner: “Less stressful”

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen have celebrated many successes together. The Red Bull Racing star secured his four Drivers’ World Championship titles and 65 of his 72 Grand Prix victories with Christian Horner as team principal of the Milton Keynes-based outfit. And the 52-year-old Briton was also at the helm of Red Bull Racing when Sebastian Vettel clinched his four Drivers’ World Championship titles. Under his leadership, the Red Bull team won the Constructors’ World Championship six times.

After more than 20 years, it all came to an end on 9 July 2025, when Horner had to step down and hand over the reins to Laurent Mekies, who continues to fulfil the roles of team principal and managing director in Milton Keynes to this day. Verstappen bid farewell to his long-standing colleague with kind words. He thanked Horner on social media, saying: “From my first Grand Prix victory to four World Championship titles – we’ve celebrated incredible successes together. We’ve secured memorable race wins and broken countless records.”

Max Verstappen: No desire for tension between the teams

Nevertheless, he is clear in his words when it comes to the former team principal’s absence from the paddock and the resulting rumours of a comeback. In an interview with the ‘Press Association’, Verstappen commented on the possible return of Horner, who is known to have had rivalries with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and McLaren CEO Zak Brown: “To be honest, I like it when people get on with one another. It’s not nice when there’s constant tension.”

Max Verstappen feierte viele Erfolge mit Christian Horner

Foto: Moy / XPB Images

“Sure, from the outside, people think that’s good, but to be honest, it’s better to maintain a friendly relationship between the teams,” the 29-year-old continues. “It’s not quite as exciting, but I quite like the way things are at the moment and how everyone’s behaving, so to speak. It’s less stressful. We all lead stressful lives, and if you can take some of that stress out of it, that’s quite good.”

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Horner’s comeback leaves Verstappen cold

Verstappen also reacts cautiously to the possibility of Horner’s comeback, which is predicted time and again. “He’s shown that he can do a good job. Of course, there are lots of rumours doing the rounds, and I don’t know how much of it is true. I don’t want to sound rude, but that’s not my problem or a worry that’s keeping me up at night. He wants to come back, and if a good opportunity arises, he’ll certainly do so. But I don’t know where that will be.”