Christian Horner has made it clear that he is confident Max Verstappen will stay with the team, following rumours of his departure.
Horner did admit that there has been “commotion” around a driver of Verstappen’s quality.
The Red Bull driver has remained with the team, resisting offers from McLaren and Mercedes previously, as he tries to bring the Milton Keynes based team back to their dominance of previous years.
The Dutchman currently sits third in the championship, 43 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen reportedly has a clause in his contract freeing him from his Red Bull obligations if he is not at least third in the standings at the end of the season.
In an interview with De Telegraaf, Horner expressed his complete faith in the Dutchman’s loyalty, despite previous comments from Helmut Marko casting doubts of the reigning champion’s future.
Max Verstappen has had a turbulent season so far
PA"No, he has always been loyal to the team and Red Bull in general. We have grown together,'' Horner said.
"He came here as a teenager and is now a 27-year-old father and four-time world champion. With Max, you know where you stand.
"I still think he feels very good here. For me, relationships are more important than contracts. If you have to point to a contract, it mainly shows that a relationship doesn't work.
JUST IN: Rory McIlroy 'struggling' as 'America turned on him' after US Open pain
"A contract is something you sign and that contains principles, but then it disappears in a drawer.
"After that, you only refer to it when you have a problem. There will always be commotion in this paddock around a driver of his stature and talent."
Despite a vigorous attempt last season, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has decided against trying to sign the Dutchman again, deciding earlier this year that Verstappen was “not on any radar.”
READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo makes emotional plea to Donald Trump as US President poses with shirt
Christian Horner is confident he will keep Max Verstappen
GettyMcLaren boss Zak Brown also had the four-time champion on the phone to gauge his commitment to Red Bull.
However, Horner isn’t surprised: "They wouldn't be doing their job properly if they didn't. But that doesn't automatically mean Max will leave. It's just part of Formula One."
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Verstappen wouldn’t be the only high-level name to leave Red Bull over the last few years, the team has lost the engineering legend Adrian Newey to Aston Martin as well as their Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley to Kick Sauber last season, and have had a notable drop in performance since the two departed Milton Keynes.
Red Bull and Verstappen had a better weekend in Canada last weekend, as the Dutchman was able to pick up a podium finish and close down the points gap to his McLaren rivals, but the reigning champion still thinks the team needs to find more to be challenging for wins again.
Max Verstappen is in a championship battle with both McLaren drivers
REUTERS"I couldn't attack at all. It was more about correcting, not forcing too much, and looking more in the rearview mirror.
"Everything plays a role with the tyres and we're just not that good at it. I always try to fight back, but you can see that we're still lacking a bit," he admitted.
The four-time champion will be looking to bounce back when the teams head to Austria in under two weeks.
Most Read
