Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz revealed what Christian Horner said to him before the Silverstone Grand Prix that could give a clue as to where Max Verstappen will end up next year.
Red Bull fired Horner after 20 years as the Team Principal of the Milton Keynes-based team, after he led them to six Constructors’ and eight Drivers’ championships since 2005.
It was widely reported that a rift between him and star driver Max Verstappen’s team was a contributing factor in the decision. Verstappen has reportedly been considering a move to Mercedes due to Red Bull’s poor performance this season.
Kravitz recalled a telling conversation between himself and the former Red Bull boss that may give away what Verstappen’s future holds.
Christian Horner told Ted Kravitz that Max Verstappen can decide his future for 2027
Next season sees a brand new set of regulations, which is set to shift the running order of the Formula One grid.
There are already rumblings around the paddock about which teams have best adapted to the new regulations, and it’s bad news for Red Bull if the rumours are true.
They are building their own power unit for the first time with support from Ford, and reports suggest they might be slightly behind the likes of Mercedes in engine development. That could be a key factor in Verstappen’s decision to leave Red Bull.
Horner, speaking to Kravitz, tried to downplay those rumours, but may have accidentally let slip something extremely telling of their progress.
Kravitz, speaking on The F1 Show, said, “Something that Christian said to me on Friday after the team boss’ press conference now comes back into my mind.
“I said to him, ‘Are people’, and by that I meant the Verstappen camp, ’guilty sometimes of worrying about things in Formula One that they don’t definitely know is going to happen? Do they need to see what happens and make a decision?’
“He latched on to that immediately. He was like ‘Yes! Yes, absolutely. People need to see. There is no guarantee that Mercedes is going to be the best place to be next year. We don’t know that.’”
Horner continued to Kravitz, “‘There’s nothing to say which car is going to be good in 2026. What people need to do is see what happens next year, and then they can decide for 2027.’”
Wait… 2027? Verstappen is contracted to 2028. So why would Horner tell his driver to reflect on his future a year before his contract ends? Those are not the words of a man who is confident in Red Bull’s chances in 2026.
Kravitz continued, “Is this all a game about 2027? If the people at Red Bull are thinking ‘ok, we’ve bought Max’s services for next year, that’s confirmed by getting rid of Horner,’ in 2027, they could lose Verstappen and Christian Horner, and be in an even worse place.”
Mercedes are the early front-runners for 2026 regulations
While Red Bull seem to be struggling to develop their new engine for next year’s regulations, Mercedes, who dominated the last engine regulation change in 2014, are having no such problems.
There is a strong feeling in the paddock that Mercedes is very confident about their 2026 power unit. So confident that Alpine, who previously produced their own engine, has switched to a Mercedes power unit for 2026.
Their Team Principal at the time, Oliver Oakes, said that the team simply wanted the best engine for the team. That’s a vote of confidence.
It makes sense, therefore, that Verstappen would be casting his eyes over to his rivals. The four-time world champion has no interest in driving anything other than the fastest car, which looks likely to be the Mercedes.
And with Horner’s comments to Kravitz, while he was trying to show confidence, he may have revealed that he agrees.