Inside the ‘Nonsense’: Horner and Verstappen’s Strong Reactions Explained
May 16 – Dr Helmut Marko insists rumours Christian Horner will be ousted as Red Bull team boss after this weekend’s grand prix at Imola are “nonsense”.
“That’s not true and is completely nonsense,” the team advisor declared to Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
Quadruple world champion Max Verstappen was asked the same question by Dutch reporters and answered: “I have no idea where these rumours come from.”
Indeed, the 2024 scandal surrounding Horner has largely subsided, as has the resultant leadership turmoil and the exodus of top staff including Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley.
However, Red Bull is left with a clear performance deficit to championship leaders McLaren, and only a car update for Imola that Marko admits is “nothing massive”.
“There was also a small improvement in Miami, but it wasn’t enough,” he told Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
Also notable is that, especially since Wheatley departed to become team boss at Audi-owned Sauber, Red Bull’s advantage in pitstop efficiency has vanished.
“There have always been different reasons, but we have dropped from leading the class to mid-table,” Marko, 82, acknowledged. “But we are working hard to improve.”
As for the “nonsense” Horner rumours, the Austrian added: “It seems someone is trying to make themselves important again.
“Everything will stay the same with us.”
What is clear, however, is that given Red Bull’s struggle to find a teammate who can get anywhere near close enough to Verstappen, the team will be very nervous as contract performance clauses loom in the summer.
De Limburger newspaper sees a link between the situation and Verstappen’s record-breaking outing around Nurburgring’s feared Nordschleife layout last week.
“Max Verstappen can do whatever he wants because Red Bull is terrified that he will leave at short notice,” the newspaper concluded.
The 27-year-old Dutchman insists he did it for “fun”, but he also admits he is working towards a day when he can take on a race like the Nurburgring 24 Hours. “It’s my passion and anyway it’s my own free time,” said Verstappen.
However, there has been talk that Verstappen could sit out F1’s 2026 season to observe the all-new regulations from the sidelines, pick the most competitive team for a comeback in 2027, and in the meantime simply race GT3 cars.
“That’s out of the question,” Verstappen said when asked about a potential sabbatical.
As for Ralf Schumacher’s observation that driving around the Nordschleife is far too dangerous for a Formula 1 driver, Marko replied calmly: “That’s not the case with a GT car.
“It is considerably slower than a Formula 1 car, which he wanted to drive there last year,” he smiled.
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