“We’re very clear”: Christian Horner comments on Max Verstappen’s RB future amid Mercedes speculation

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has come forward to address the 2026 Mercedes speculation around Max Verstappen. The Brit has strongly made it clear that Verstappen is contracted to the Austrian team until the end of 2028, and everyone within the outfit is 'very clear' on that.

At the ongoing 2025 Austrian Grand Prix race weekend, Max Verstappen and Co. have been bombarded with questions regarding a 2026 switch to Mercedes. Moreover, amid the already bright burning fire, more fuel was added when Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed his interest in acquiring the services of Verstappen.

In light of all that has happened and is potentially still happening behind closed doors, Christian Horner has given the following statement:

"We’re very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028. So anything is entirely speculative that is being said, but we tend not to pay too much attention to it." (Via: RaceFans).

Mercedes's George Russell also recently admitted that Mercedes is in talks with the reigning world champion, and in light of this, Horner further added:

"I can imagine that George is frustrated he hasn’t been given a contract yet, but that’s between him and his team. But the situation with Max, we know clearly where we’re at and obviously so does Max. So everything is subject to noise and obviously within any contract it remains confidential between the parties."

As things stand, George Russell's Mercedes contract is set to expire at the end of the ongoing 2025 F1 season.

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Max Verstappen 'happy' for former teammate after strong quali performance in Austria

F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Source: Getty

While Christian Horner has come up with a strong take in regard to the Max Verstappen-Mercedes speculation, the latter ended his qualifying outing for the upcoming Austrian GP in P7. However, he was pleased to see his former teammate Liam Lawson secure a strong P6 starting position for the race.

In line with this, via a live stream for Team Redline, Verstappen said:

"Yeah, absolutely. I was happy for him, it was a very good quali result."

Liam Lawson was entrusted with the Red Bull Formula 1 seat for 2025 ahead of the campaign. However, following his mediocre outings in the first two races, he was dropped from the main team in favor of then-Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda.

The Japanese driver was promoted with the hope of putting in performances close to Verstappen, but he has also struggled to do this, just like Lawson. In yesterday's Austrian GP qualifying session, while Verstappen managed a P7 finish, Tsunoda was knocked out in Q1.

The second seat at Red Bull has always been a problem. Over the years, top drivers like Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Sergio Perez have all had a go at it, but no one was able to match the level of Max Verstappen.