© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Christian Horner says Toto Wolff’s “time would perhaps be better spent focusing on the team rather than the driver market”.
Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, Toto Wolff suggested that Max Verstappen has reasons to get out of his Red Bull contract early, to possibly join Mercedes.
When this was put to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, he proceeded to blast the Austrian.
“I’ve got to think carefully what I say here… I can assure you there is no ambiguity over where Max will be driving next year,” Horner said.
“It’s not about pieces of paper at the end of the day, we know he has a contract to the end of 2028, it’s about how he feels in the team and the relationship he has in the team, and the way he’s performing.
“I don’t think Toto’s problems are his drivers, I think he’s probably got other elements he needs to be focusing on rather than focusing on drivers that are unavailable.”
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Asked if he would like for Verstappen to definitively say that he will not be leaving Red Bull any time soon, Horner said:
“Well I don’t know how many more times he needs to say it! He’s said it numerous times. Look, I’m not going to get drawn in. Sometimes it’s just designed to create noise.
“We’ve moved today ahead of the amount of races that Mercedes have won in the modern era. So the team’s in form, why on earth would you want to leave this team?
“Mercedes are the third team behind their customers at the moment, so I think [Toto’s] time would perhaps be better spent focusing on the team rather than the driver market,” the Briton concluded.
