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Max Verstappen has claimed that no one at Red Bull is worried about his potential exit amidst reports of an internal struggle within the team.
Since the beginning of the season, the team has been dealing with chaos in the leadership after Christian Horner was cleared from allegations of inappropriate behavior. The Milton-Keynes outfit was reportedly split in two with the Austrian side wanting to fire Horner with the Thai side in favor of keeping him.
There were also reports swirling around about Max Verstappen's future within the team as the tensions grew. Speaking to the Dutch publication AD, the three-time world champion spoke about his future and if the team members feared losing him. He said:
“At the moment nobody is afraid of that, I think. Two weeks back, though? Mwah, that may be. But some people also read a lot, I don’t. And I think in general that does help.
“That’s what I do try to tell people, yes, that they better not read it all for a while, certain things. And if there are any questions, anyone in the team can always call me.”
Former Haas team boss chimes in on Max Verstappen's future
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes that the news around Max Verstappen's reported exit from Red Bull has calmed down after the initial noise around it. Speaking with Sky Sports, Steiner said:
"I think it has calmed down lately, what is going on there? So I think getting out of the contract would be not easy for him. We don't have insight into the contract but I think it's also a good team to drive for at this moment.
"In Max's own interest, he likes the car there, he likes the team so if there is not anything really disturbing him personally, I think he doesn't really want to move."
Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season. He had previously claimed that he might leave the team if Helmut Marko leaves amidst reports of the Austrian's suspension from the team. However, Marko was cleared by the board and stayed in his position.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had publicly stated that he would love to have the Dutchman in his team. Wolff also added that there was no team on the grid that "wouldn’t do handstands to have him in the car" (via Reuters).
