Max Verstappen – Page 6 – Syndication Server

Norris ‘was trying to cause something’ in clash with Verstappen – Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggests Lando Norris was trying to create an opportunity to heavily impact Max Verstappen’s race in their battle at the Austrian Grand Prix. Norris was trying to overtake Verstappen in the final stint of the …

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggests Lando Norris was trying to create an opportunity to heavily impact Max Verstappen’s race in their battle at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Norris was trying to overtake Verstappen in the final stint of the race after a slow pit stop brought the Red Bull driver into range in the fight for the win, and had multiple failed attempts to pass at Turn 3. In one attack, Norris ran wide in what was his fourth track limits violation – earning him a five-second time penalty – and Horner says that makes the contact that followed ‘frustrating’ from his perspective.

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“Obviously we had the race under control, there was an eight-second lead and the pit stop put us closer than we should have been,” Horner told SiriusXM. “Lando had the benefit of the newer tire with cooler temps than we expected, but then he picked up four track violations, so he was going to get a five-second penalty, and it just felt like he was trying to cause something up at Turn 3.

“So very frustrating. Frustrating for Max, for the team, but nonetheless we’ve still managed to extend leads in both championships, but not the points we wanted.”

The stewards appeared to disagree with Horner’s assessment as Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty for moving towards Norris – who was on the outside in the braking zone – when they collided, but the Red Bull team principal maintained his stance when asked if he felt Norris had initiated contact.

“I felt there was a lot of dive-bombing going on up there,” Horner said. “I need to look at it again, I’ve only seen it live so I haven’t seen a replay, but the penalty did seem harsh. But it is what it is.”

When reviewing the race later on Sunday evening, Horner also pointed to Norris losing out to Verstappen in a battle during the Sprint race as having played a role in the way he approached the latest fight.

“I think Max is a hard racer, and they know that. I think Lando was trying to make up for [Saturday],” he said. “It was inevitable that you could see this building perhaps for a couple of races. At some point, there was going to be something close between the two of them.

“[Norris] was getting his elbows out. It’s two tough racers.

“It’s probably a bit of a hangover from [the Sprint]. Max passed him without DRS into Turn 4, and then he got mugged by his teammate, so there was probably a little bit of a hangover of that. It was a shame, because we had everything under control. I think the final pit stop put Lando back into contention, and then with the advantage on tire that he had, that was enough to get him into the DRS.”

FIA never addressed Verstappen’s driving in 2021 – Stella

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the way Max Verstappen races was never addressed properly by the FIA in 2021, following a controversial battle with Lando Norris in the Austrian Grand Prix. Norris complained that Verstappen was moving in …

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the way Max Verstappen races was never addressed properly by the FIA in 2021, following a controversial battle with Lando Norris in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Norris complained that Verstappen was moving in response to his attacking attempts at Turn 3, with the McLaren driver trying to take the lead in the closing stages of Sunday’s race. After multiple off-track incidents for both, the pair touched as Norris was on the outside of the track approaching the same corner, with Verstappen given a 10s time penalty for the incident that ended Norris’ race and eventually demoted the championship leader to fifth.

“The entire population of the world knows who was responsible except for a group of people,” Stella told Sky Sports. “If you don’t address these things honestly, they will come back. They weren’t addressed properly in the past when there were fights with Lewis that needed to be punished in a harsher way. Like this, you learn how to race in a certain way.”

Stella later expanded that he believes the FIA need to use the incidents at the Red Bull Ring to reinforce what he believes to be the rules of on-track competition.

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“In every kind of human dynamics, if you don’t address things, as soon as you introduce competition, as soon as you introduce a sense of injustice, these things escalate,” he said. “I think here there was an incomplete job, let’s say, that comes from the past, and is a legacy that as soon as there was a trigger…immediately it became a case that escalated.

“So I think this episode today should be taken as an opportunity to tighten up, to plump up the boundaries, and in fairness, enforcing some of the rules that are already in place. We need to be very clear that these rules cannot be abused in a way that then leaves a margin to do a couple of times the same maneuver, and you know the third time there is going to be an accident.

“Of course, even statistically, there is going to be an accident. Like I say, there is obviously frustration to today, but for me what is important is this is now taken as an opportunity for the FIA, for the sport, so that we can in the future hopefully enjoy more of these battles that means McLaren is in condition to race Red Bull, but knowing that this is not going to end up with a collision.

“For us, there’s a lot of points gone and a victory which I think Lando deserved to have the opportunity to have. It could have been Max, it could have been Lando. That’s racing. But racing…with collisions, we don’t like it.”

Norris calls Verstappen ‘a little bit desperate’ and questions fairness

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of being “a little bit desperate” and lacking respect in their battle for the lead in the Austrian Grand Prix that ended in contact. Verstappen’s comfortable lead disappeared towards the end of the second stint of …

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of being “a little bit desperate” and lacking respect in their battle for the lead in the Austrian Grand Prix that ended in contact.

Verstappen’s comfortable lead disappeared towards the end of the second stint of the race, with Norris taking advantage of a slow pit stop from Red Bull to get within DRS range and trying to overtake. Multiple attempts down the inside of Turn 3 saw Norris fail to get the move done — once running wide himself and another seeing Verstappen go wide and rejoin ahead — before Verstappen was penalized for causing a collision with Norris on the outside approaching the corner.

“I expect a tough battle against Max,” Norris said. “I know what to expect, I expect aggression and pushing the limits and that kind of thing, but all three times he’s doing stuff that can easily cause an incident, and in [a way that’s] a bit reckless.

“It seemed like a little bit desperate from his side. It doesn’t need to be; he’s got plenty of wins, but a bit desperate to do what he could to not let me past. I know he’s going to be aggressive so I’m in a way not surprised… I jut expected a tough, fair, respectful, on-the-edge bit of racing, and I don’t feel like that’s what I got.”

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Verstappen was handed a 10s time penalty for the incident that ended Norris’ race, but the McLaren driver says his issue is Verstappen’s approach.

“I do what I can, try and drive a good, fair race, and just…not what I got in return from his side. I don’t care about the rest honestly, it’s not for me to decide the penalties and things like that. I feel like what he did was unfair. Three of the times, no warning was issued, he did it again a final time and ruined both of our races.”

There was criticism of Norris’ overtaking attempts from Verstappen — who called them “dive-bombs” — but the McLaren driver says he was in control of his own overtaking moves until Verstappen reacted.

“The thing is, a little bit of movement is going to happen, but he’s completely reacting to what I was doing. Once you’ve committed so aggressively on the brakes you don’t leave room for getting off and allowing a bit more space in the braking zone.

“Once you’ve committed, you’ve committed. He moved, which forced me to move, and therefore I would lock up or do something, but every point before he moved I was not locked up or out of control.

“My moves were fair, until I had to react to something he did in the middle of the braking zone, and you don’t have grip, you’re not able to…adjust and counter these kinds of things [when you’re on the edge]. At the same time, if I’m not able to move like I was, then you’re going to have more collisions. I’m happy with what I did; [I] wouldn’t change anything.”

Verstappen will talk to Norris after disagreement over braking move

Max Verstappen says he will talk to Lando Norris after the dust has settled from the Austrian Grand Prix, as he disagrees that he was moving under braking defending against the McLaren. Norris caught Verstappen in the final stint of the race after a …

Max Verstappen says he will talk to Lando Norris after the dust has settled from the Austrian Grand Prix, as he disagrees that he was moving under braking defending against the McLaren.

Norris caught Verstappen in the final stint of the race after a slow pit stop for the Red Bull driver, and attempted on multiple occasions to try and pass at Turn 3. Making an attempt on the inside from a long way back, Norris complained that Verstappen moved under braking in response to him three times, before the pair touched when Norris was trying on the outside and both picked up punctures.

“For me it was not moving under braking because every time I moved I was not braking already,” Verstappen said. “Of course from the outside it looks like that, but I think I know fairly well what to do in these kinds of scenarios

“A few of those were really late divebombs, so it’s a bit of a ‘just send them up the inside and hope that the other guy steers out of it,’ which is not always how you race. But I think the corner here lends to that as well — I’ve been in the other position where you go for it and it’s just the shape of the corner.

“The move we got together was something I didn’t expect because I saw him coming, defend a little bit the inside, then under braking we touch the rear tires and we both get a puncture from it, which of course is something you don’t want to happen.

“We’ll talk about it; not now, it’s not the right time, but we’re racing drivers. Of course Lando and I have a little age gap which is why we never really raced together in lower categories like some other drivers here, but we’ll move on.”

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Verstappen was handed a 10s time penalty for the collision that led to damage that ultimately demoted him to fifth and forced Norris to retire, and while the Red Bull driver felt that was harsh, he was more focused on Norris’ earlier attempts to pass when he was on the verge of receiving a penalty for exceeding track limits.

“That’s what I meant with the divebombing — just sending it up late and hoping the other guy stays out of it and you make the corner, which wasn’t the case.

“Of course moving under braking for me wasn’t the case as I literally didn’t brake when I moved, but it’s also a bit sending it up the inside from far, which of course looks good, I like it as well, but sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Today that didn’t work out. Then, like I said before, with the contact we had — super unfortunate.”

The championship leader ended up extending his advantage by 10 points courtesy of his fifth place, but he was left frustrated by the overall performance from Red Bull having seen an 8s lead mid-race disappear.

“I think the first stint was quite good, then at the end of that first stint I caught quite a bit of traffic. We should have boxed for me, personally, because I just gave up free lap time. We basically did a lot of things wrong today, I think starting with strategy.

“The pit stops were a disaster. The first one was really bad, the second one even more of a disaster, and then you give free lap time — 6s over those two pit stops.

“[Of course, then] it’s a race again and that’s why we put ourselves in that position. Unfortunate…for an accident to happen between us, which you never want to happen, but we did everything wrong that we could have done today.”

Verstappen calls 0.4s pole margin ‘a statement’

Max Verstappen describes his advantage in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix as “a statement” after taking pole position by over 0.4s. The last three qualifying sessions – including Friday’s sprint qualifying – have seen pole position decided by …

Max Verstappen describes his advantage in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix as “a statement” after taking pole position by over 0.4s.

The last three qualifying sessions — including Friday’s sprint qualifying — have seen pole position decided by under 0.1s as the field has closed up, with Verstappen’s last full pole position coming in Imola. After being fastest in qualifying for the sprint and winning the shorter race, he then took pole in Austria by over 0.4s from Lando Norris and says it shows what Red Bull is capable of.

“It’s been a while since we’ve actually been on pole, so it’s great,” Verstappen said. “It’s a great feeling. The team has been working really hard to try and make the car more competitive. I think this is a great statement, and hopefully we can also show that tomorrow in the race.

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“I think the whole session went really well. The car was in a better window. I could push a bit more, rely on the grip of the car, the balance. It was very enjoyable. I was just trying to progress through Q1 without using a new set, and that worked.

“Then from there, we just tried to fine-tune the balance here and there a little bit. But every lap that I did was feeling good. And then it’s all about trying to just nail every corner. It’s been a while that I’ve felt like this in the car and also looking at the gap, the last few races, I’ve always been very close in front or behind. So this was definitely very positive for the team.”

After a number of races where Red Bull has been challenged by Norris and McLaren, Verstappen is confident the balance he found for qualifying will benefit him across the 71 laps at the Red Bull Ring too.

“It was just a more stable balance, a bit more connected front to rear, and that worked out well,” he said. “I think we made the right changes, and then you can see that it’s little things that sometimes can actually make quite a bit of a difference in lap time. So I’m very happy with that because, like I said before, we haven’t had the easiest of runs and I think pure pace has been a bit harder for us compared to the last two years. So this is definitely very positive for everyone.

“That’s something that I hope is going to be good [for the race] as well, but I will find out tomorrow. I felt like the car just improved a bit balance wise, which hopefully will help the tires tomorrow as well, because it’s still going to be a hot and long race. So you really have to look after the tires, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Verstappen continues Austria domination with his 40th GP pole

Max Verstappen dominated qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, blitzing the field by almost half a second to take his 40th pole position in Formula 1. Fresh from cruising from pole to victory in the sprint race earlier today, Verstappen was …

Max Verstappen dominated qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, blitzing the field by almost half a second to take his 40th pole position in Formula 1.

Fresh from cruising from pole to victory in the sprint race earlier today, Verstappen was peerless and imperious throughout the hour qualifying session, setting two lap times in Q3 quick enough for pole position.

The Red Bull driver’s ultimate margin was 0.404s to Lando Norris, who couldn’t follow the reigning champion up the road after having run him close during the sprint sessions.

“The qualifying went really well,” Verstappen said of his first pole position since May’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. “We tried to adjust the car a little bit after the things that we learnt his morning. I think it went well.

“The car felt a lot better for me today. I could really attack the corners a bit more. Every run was just on point. It was very enjoyable out there.

“It’s been a while that we’ve actually been on pole, so it’s great. It’s a great feeling.”

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Norris was satisfied being the best of the rest but appeared pessimistic about McLaren’s chances in the grand prix after Verstappen’s pole domination.

“I think it was as much as we could do today,” he said. “Max was in a league of his own.

“When you look at the pace today, it’s clear that we’re going to have to give it a lot. I’ll try. I’ll do a better job than I did this morning [in the sprint]. It’s a long race. Many things can happen.”

Norris had been set to have McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri behind him in third again, but the Australian had his quickest time deleted for exceeding track limits in a marginal call exiting Turn 6. That promoted George Russell up to third for Mercedes’s third consecutive top-three grand prix qualifying result.

“The car’s feeling really great at the moment,” he said. “It’s definitely going in the right direction for us.”

As was the case for the sprint, Carlos Sainz will split the two Mercedes drivers on the grid, qualifying fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth.

Charles Leclerc’s final lap was scrappy, picking up a snap of oversteer at Turn 6 that spit him over the stones and then running off the roar at Turn 9. He had to fall back on his first lap, leaving him sixth.

Piastri ended up seventh after his deleted lap time, but that was still more than enough to stay ahead of Sergio Perez, who was a woeful eighth and 0.888s off the pace around Formula 1’s shortest lap by time.

Nico Hulkenberg qualified ninth for Haas ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified 11th, missing out on Q3 by just 0.015s, to line up alongside Kevin Magnussen, the Haas driver only 0.058s slower than the under-pressure RB-driving Australian.

Pierre Gasly had set the 12th-fastest time of Q2 but had it deleted for exceeding track limits exiting Turn 6. His previous lap was enough to keep him 13th alongside Yuki Tsunoda in the second RB car. His off-track excursion cause a delay to the start of Q3 to allow marshals to clear up gravel spat onto the circuit.

Fernando Alonso was 0.227s slower than Tsunoda on his way to a lackluster 15th. It’s the fifth time in the last six races the Spaniard has failed to qualify in the top 10 as Aston Martin’s alarming backwards slide continues unabated.

Alex Albon will start 16th in the best-placed Williams ahead of Lance Stroll, the shock knockout in Q1 for Aston Martin.

Valtteri Bottas qualified 18th ahead of Williams driver Logan Sargeant and Sauber teammate Zhou Guanyu. This was the fifth time in the last eight grands prix Zhou has been knocked out 20th, following on from his last-place qualification for the sprint, as his qualifying slump continues.

Verstappen says latest spat between father, Horner ‘could have been avoided’

Max Verstappen says the rekindling of the animosity between his father Jos and team principal Christian Horner at the Austrian Grand Prix could have been avoided. Jos Verstappen claimed before the race weekend that Horner had vetoed his planned …

Max Verstappen says the rekindling of the animosity between his father Jos and team principal Christian Horner at the Austrian Grand Prix could have been avoided.

Jos Verstappen claimed before the race weekend that Horner had vetoed his planned appearance during a Red Bull legends parade in an old Formula 1 car that had been instigated by the race organizers, something Horner denied on Friday. However, after winning the Sprint, Verstappen Jr suggested there had been a different version of events and that he’s not happy that the two are again at odds after plenty of disputes earlier this year when Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior towards a colleague.

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“Naturally of course it’s not nice, I think not for myself, not for my dad, not for Christian, not for the team,” Verstappen said. “Of course you don’t want these things to happen. I think my dad has been quite clear about the reason behind it, and of course I can understand his opinion on that, because at the end of the day, he gets asked to drive the car, finds out that he’s not wanted to drive the car while my dad, he actually doesn’t care about driving the car, but he got asked and said ‘Please do it for the fans, Dutch fans, blah blah blah…’

“Red Bull, we have a great relationship with, home track. So I understand. On the other hand, I’m here to focus on the performance side of things, so I want a good relationship with everyone. But of course this scenario could have been avoided.”

Jos Verstappen had claimed Red Bull would “explode” if Horner remained in charge earlier this year amid the investigation into the team principal’s behavior, but the Dutchman’s lack of presence at a number of races recently had seen a calming of the situation.

On Friday, Horner had denied that he had intervened when he had learned that Verstappen Sr was set to take part in the display in a Red Bull on Saturday and Sunday.

“Look, I’ve been made aware that,” Horner said. “The legends parade is something that is organized by the circuit. There was no veto from my side or anything like that. And I’m sure the legends will be in action later.”

Verstappen beats Piastri in Austria GP sprint race

Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix sprint from pole after fending off front-row starter Lando Norris in an early duel. The sprint was reduced by a lap after an aborted start owing to photographers standing behind the barriers at Turn 1, and …

Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix sprint from pole after fending off front-row starter Lando Norris in an early duel.

The sprint was reduced by a lap after an aborted start owing to photographers standing behind the barriers at Turn 1, and Verstappen had no trouble keeping Norris at bay off the line when the race eventually got going. But Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, starting third, clung close to the back of the Red Bull Racing car, the advantage of which was notably reduced without the benefit of DRS. It was a great boost to the chasing McLarens, who were both able to click open their drag reduction systems at the end of the first lap to harry the championship leader.

Norris was the fastest man on track on the second lap, but his looks on either side of the Dutchman at the top of the hill at Turn 3 were deftly closed, holding him and Piastri at bay. It took a deep lunge from a long way back on lap 5 to force the issue, with Norris block passing down Verstappen inside at Turn 3 to relieve him of position.

It was to be short lived, however. Norris ran wide, and Verstappen was able to get a strong launch off the corner to run side by side on the run down to Turn 4, where he pried open the door down the inside of the downhill right-hander to take back the lead.

It caught Norris unawares, so much so that an opportunistic Piastri was able to barge through the open door after Verstappen. The two teammates were neck and neck down to Turn 6, where a gutsy move around the outside confirmed Piastri in second and bumped Norris down to third.

It was Piastri’s turn to chase the lead, but it was a forlorn pursuit. By lap 9 the Dutchman’s lead stretch just over 1s, and without DRS the chasing McLarens were unable to follow him up the road. It was a cruise for the title leader form there, with Verstappen claiming victory by 4.6s.

“Once DRS opens, it’s very hard to get out of it,” Verstappen said. “It took a few laps – a few exciting battles as well.

“You could see two cars pushing flat out trying to make it difficult for me. We had to work for it in that race.”

Norris dropped back from Piastri through the middle phase of the race but closed back in the final laps to pressure his teammate to cough up second place. The Australian wouldn’t be defeated, however, to take his best sprint finish and equal best finish in any session of the season.

“I finished one spot higher than I started but didn’t quite have good pace in the second half of that one,” he said. “Some things to look at for this afternoon and for tomorrow’s race, but we’ll definitely take the points. It’s a good haul.”

Norris was disappointed to have lost two positions in as many corners, but he was left optimistic that his team could close the gap to the front for Sunday’s grand prix.

“A good race between us, especially with Max at the beginning,” he said. “There were some things I definitely should have done better in my battle, but I understand that.

“The pace of the car was very strong, especially at the end of the race. I don’t think we probably would’ve had the pace to go with Max … but tomorrow’s another day, and we’ll try again.”

George Russell lost fourth place to Carlos Sainz on the first lap, but by lap 8 the Mercedes driver had resumed the position, leading home the Spaniard and teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Charles Leclerc gained three places off the line to finish seventh ahead of a wayward Sergio Perez, who crossed the line a lonely eighth for the final point of the sprint.

Kevin Magnussen has a strong race to ninth, up two places on the grid, ahead of Lance Stroll, likewise up a pair of places. Those gains came at the expense of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, both down three places on the first lap.

Yuki Tsunoda finished 13th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who will see the stewards after the race for forcing Fernando Alonso off track late in the race at Turn 3, costing the Spaniard a place to Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian and Spaniard finishing 15th and 16th.

Logan Sargeant finished 17th ahead of teammate Alex Albon, who started from pit lane with setup changes, and Sauber teammates Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

Verstappen eager to test Red Bull pace vs McLaren in sprint

Max Verstappen says the sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix will give a telling indication of the relative pace differences between Red Bull and McLaren this weekend. McLaren has consistently been a threat to Red Bull since introducing an upgrade in …

Max Verstappen says the sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix will give a telling indication of the relative pace differences between Red Bull and McLaren this weekend.

McLaren has consistently been a threat to Red Bull since introducing an upgrade in Miami, with Lando Norris winning in Florida and then finishing second to Verstappen in Imola, Canada and Spain. After taking pole position for Saturday’s sprint by under 0.1s from Norris once again, Verstappen says the trend appears to be continuing but he’s keen to learn more in the shorter race.

“We started off the day well, the car was already in a good window — a little niggle with the sensor but we fixed that quickly — and then heading into qualifying I think the car was pretty strong. I could push,” Verstappen said. “Of course there are always areas where we can do better, so we’ll look at that tonight, but definitely a good start to the weekend.

“At the end of the day, when really everyone is pushing flat out [McLaren] are again behind me, so for sure they are quick as well. We seem quick in the high speed, which is nice around here, hopefully we can keep that going also tomorrow, but of course the sprint race will give us an early indication of how the pace will be in the race for every car so I’m looking forward to that.”

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Norris had a similar outlook to Verstappen having looked most competitive in the final part of sprint qualifying compared to the earlier phases, and he says he’s confident he can take the fight to the Red Bull driver over the 24 laps.

“I think reasonably good, to be honest — I never got quite comfortable until probably my final lap,” Norris said. “So I’m happy with that. Close, as it has been the whole year, so no difference, but it must have been a nice lap by Max and a good position for the race tomorrow.”

Oscar Piastri will start from third as both McLarens secured strong grid positions, and the Australian says it was a relief to bounce back from a challenging weekend in Barcelona.

“The position is quite good obviously but the last lap, there were a couple of corners I could tidy up,” Piastri said. “It’s nice to at least know where the time is — obviously a bit of a rough one last weekend, so I feel like we’re back on the pace. The new front wing was working well, so excited for the rest of the weekend now.

“The gap to Max is not massive and I know there were a couple of big mistakes on that lap, so we’re definitely in the mix.”

Horner labels Wolff’s talk of signing Verstappen a ‘distraction tactic’

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes his Mercedes opposite number Toto Wolff has been talking about the potential of signing Max Verstappen to try and distract from his own team’s recent struggles. Verstappen (at right, above, with …

Verstappen (at right, above, with Horner and Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, at left) was linked to a possible move to Mercedes earlier this year amid the controversy surrounding Horner’s behavior and a wider power battle within Red Bull, with Wolff publicly stating he’d like to sign the three-time world champion to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. After Verstappen insisted he would be driving for Red Bull in 2025, Wolff still questioned whether that was the case, but Horner says there’s no chance the Dutchman will be racing for Mercedes next year.

“It only re-affirms everything that we already know,” Horner said. “Max is an important part of our team. He’s had all of his victories and podiums in Red Bull Racing cars, his three world championships so far, and he’s a crucial member of the team. He enjoys being part of the team. He’s got a tremendous group around him. And we know what the future looks like.

“Obviously, a lot of noise has been made about him going elsewhere. And sometimes, one just thinks that that’s a distraction tactic that’s just thrown in because you have to question what are the motives obviously behind that.

“The driver that’s created all the movement in the market had all the information about the engines and 2026 regulations and so on and chose to leave and left the vacancy at Mercedes, which is why there has now been obviously a little bit of speculation as to who will fill that seat. But it won’t be Max Verstappen.”

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Horner was pressed on his relationship with Jos Verstappen — Max’s father — who is at the Austrian Grand Prix and scheduled to take part in a legends parade for Red Bull, but while he wouldn’t be drawn on his personal relationship with Verstappen Sr., he did joke that he could be the one to join Mercedes.

“The relationship with Max has always been very good, very strong. He’s a key part of our team and he’s our driver. He’s the one that is important, obviously, to have a strong relationship with. I’ve never had an issue with any of our drivers’ fathers in the past. And whatever Jos’s issues are, I’ve really got nothing to comment on.

“I thought Max was pretty resolute in what he said. He’s always been absolutely consistent with that with the team. So, yeah, why Toto? I think it’s purely a tactic of distraction. Of course, if he does want a Verstappen for next year, then I guess Jos is potentially available.”