Martin Brundle believes Max Verstappen is likely to stay at Red Bull next season following the news that Christian Horner has been relieved of his duties as the team’s F1 CEO.
Horner, 51, has been in charge of Red Bull Racing since its inception in 2005 but will be replaced by former Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies after a shock announcement on Wednesday morning.
Four-time F1 world champion Verstappen has been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes in recent weeks, despite having a £50m-a-year contract in place with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season. Aston Martin are also interested in signing Verstappen.
Yet with Verstappen’s father, Jos, known to have fallen out with Horner since last year’s scandal involving a female colleague, Sky F1 pundit Brundle weighed up what impact today’s news has on Verstappen’s future in Formula One.
“I can only surmise it means it’s more likely he stays at this moment,” Brundle told Sky Sports News.
“It remains to be seen. Every point Max has through his own genius driving is in a Red Bull car. They’re debuting their own engine [with Ford] for the first time next year. which is going to be the biggest change in Formula 1 history.
“We know that Max has an exit clause based on where he is in the world championship at the end of this month.”
That said exit clause is reported to be that Verstappen can leave the team if he is lower than fourth in the drivers’ championship by the F1 summer break, following the next two races in Belgium and Hungary.
Verstappen is currently third in the standings, 46 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in fifth, but 69 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.
Brundle also revealed that Horner has not yet been given a clear reason from Red Bull’s parent company for the decision to relieve him of his duties.
“I believe it’s probably performance-related,” Brundle said..
“I think it perhaps make it more likely that the Verstappens (Max and Jos) will stay there. That became quite personal.
“There are a number of aspects. The car is struggling, but they’ve won races brilliantly this year. I’m due to speak to Christan later in the day, I said ‘can I have a chat?’ And he wasn’t able to do that.
“No reason was given to him as to why he’s been released. That’s the only hard info on that. Nothing’s forever. Things move on.”
Brundle’s colleague at Sky F1, Karun Chandhok, also opined that the news made it more likely that Verstappen will stay at Red Bull next season.
“My gut says he will stay at Red Bull for 2026,” Chandhok said. “That’s my gut feeling at the moment.”
Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen insisted on Wednesday that his driver is committed to the team. The 27-year-old has not driven outside the Red Bull family since his F1 debut for sister team Toro Rosso in 2015.
Verstappen has repeatedly reiterated his short-term commitment to Red Bull, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made it known recently that he is keeping an eye on the prospect of signing the Dutchman.
Verstappen’s arch rival, George Russell, only has a contract in place at Mercedes until the end of the season.
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