With Horner Sacked, is Verstappen Next?

Matt Hylen
Jul 16
5 min read

Christian Horner (left) and Max Verstappen (right). C/O to fervogear.com

Breaking news was announced on July 9 that Red Bull's CEO and Team Principal, Christian Horner, would be relieved of his duties effective immediately. With Red Bull being on the brink of implosion for over a year now, Horner was the next big domino to fall in Red Bull's attempt to prevent themselves from going down their current path.

Horner, who has been Red Bull Racing's Team Principal and CEO since they entered the sport as a team in 2005, was one of the biggest contributors to Red Bull's success. Say what you want about his personality or off-track issues, but Horner's tenure as the head of Red Bull Racing will be remembered for years and years to come.

In his time at Red Bull, Horner has led the team to six Constructors' Championships and eight Drivers' Championships, including one of the most dominant seasons the sport has ever seen, winning 21 of the 22 races in 2023.

However, this shocking news begs the question: how does this affect Max Verstappen's future? With the Max/Mercedes rumors swirling around the rumor mill more than they ever have, is this the opportunity for Max to jump ship?

Let's talk about it.

Max Verstappen. C/O to Clive Rose/Getty Images via cnn.com

It isn't a secret that Max Verstappen and Christian Horner, especially towards the end, did not see eye to eye. This strain in their relationship started when Jos Verstappen (Max's father, representative, and advisor) attempted to involve himself in the internal affairs of the team. He tried to push an agenda that would give Horner less power over the team in order to distribute power among other key members the team possesses. Horner did not like this and, as a result, pushed Jos Verstappen out as much as he could.

Though Max Verstappen has made a visible effort to separate himself from this conflict, it cannot be ignored that he must be a part of this somehow, or at least have an opinion on it.

Yet, through all this drama, the one thing that overshadowed any differences between the two was the team's success. Max was dominating, and Horner led the team in a way that gave Max a championship-winning caliber car.

So, the way I see it is that, in their minds, as long as they were winning, the personal differences between Horner and the Verstappens were irrelevant and thus could be put aside.

But they aren't winning anymore.

Red Bull has been imploding from the inside out for over a year now. Since the exit of their Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, and Sporting Director, Jonathan Wheatley, the car's performance has only been on a declining trajectory. As a result, one can assume that the Verstappens' and Horner's differences, whatever those may be, were brought to the forefront.

On top of this, rumors about a potential move to Mercedes have been legitimate in the Verstappen camp. With Max having ties to Mercedes, and the team considered to be a championship front-runner come the new regulations next year, it would make sense for Max to leave the drama and jump ship.

Max Verstappen (left) and Mercedes CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff (right). C/O to skysports.com

Mercedes have been progressing nicely thus far in 2025, with their car looking miles ahead of where Red Bull's is at the moment. Though Max is ahead of both Mercedes drivers in the Drivers' Standings, that is mostly due to his talent and raw pace.

Another thing to consider is stability. Red Bull is obviously going through a major overhaul on the staff side of things, changing their entire leadership crew. Mercedes, on the other hand, has complete stability among their staff, with no sign of that changing. This means that more focus can be made on developing the 2026 car, which many believe will be elite.

Max has made it very clear that he wants to win, and he wants to do it now. He is not interested in being in a car that will do any less than that. He is in the prime of his career, has won four Drivers' Championships in a row, and has stated that he will not race for as long as the Lewis Hamiltons or Fernando Alonsos of the world. Take that into account, and the fact that Verstappen was an Academy driver for Mercedes when he was coming up, and Mercedes seems to be a legitimate option for Verstappen.

With that said, Horner's departure could be Red Bull's response to these rumors. Red Bull knows the state of the team is in shambles, and the only redeeming quality they have left is Verstappen. Thus, getting rid of the man who holds the most power and brings the most drama could be what Max needed to stay with the team.

What do I think? I think that, taking all this into account, the chance of a Verstappen move is more real than it has ever been. With that said, I think it is a last resort for Max, who doesn't seem to want to leave Red Bull unless he feels he has to. The trickiest part in all of this is the new regulations. Every team is basically starting from scratch, and as much as people like to play favorites or bet on teams to succeed, we truly will not know the pecking order until the cars take the track.

I think that if Max were to stay, firing Horner was the right move. He caused way too much drama that revolved around a guy (Max Verstappen) who absolutely hates any off-track conflict. However, if Max were to go, this is the time. Red Bull's implosion has officially begun, which means Max may want to get out of there as soon as he can.

Overall, if Red Bull can't produce a car for Max in 2026, or if Verstappen has lost faith in the team's ability to give him a worthy car, I don't think Max will waste his time with Red Bull. F1 is a cutthroat sport, so if Mercedes is willing to pay the £100 million ($133,926,000) fee it would take to break Max's contract with Red Bull, I don't think they will think twice about it.

With that said, if I were to bet, I think Max stays another year. With too much unknown regarding car performance in 2026 and him still being under contract, a move to a brand-new team might not be ideal for Max. I mean, look at how drivers this season have looked on their new teams. Carlos Sainz has not lived up to the hype with Williams, and Lewis Hamilton, who is arguably the greatest driver of all time, is still struggling to get a hold of the Ferrari car and team in general.

Plus, Mercedes has a really good thing going with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, making even less sense as to why they would get rid of one of the two. Yes, it is Max Verstappen, and I am sure any team would sacrifice a driver in order to get Max. But unless Max is 100% in, Mercedes might want to stand pat, at least for 2026.

We have seen some crazy things happen in F1, but a Max Verstappen move may be one of the biggest. Time will tell what Max Verstappen decides to do, but whatever he decides might dictate the future of Formula 1 for years to come.