Christian Horner admits ‘inevitable’ for Max Verstappen to be on every team’s radar

Christian Horner noted that interest from rival teams to poach Max Verstappen was no surprise for Red Bull Racing.

Christian Horner admits ‘inevitable’ for Max Verstappen to be on every team’s radar

Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen has been Red Bull’s star driver for almost a decade. The Dutch driver has achieved historic success for the Austrian team. Now, Christian Horner has indicated that it is no surprise rival teams want to poach the 27-year-old.

The four-time world champion has been linked to Mercedes in the past few months. Moreover, even Aston Martin was rumored to be in talks with Verstappen. Though, the Dutchman’s current Red Bull deal extends at least till the end of 2028.

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Christian Horner asserted that Max Verstappen‘s talent guaranteed that he’d be on the ‘Christmas list’ of every Team Principal on the grid. The Red Bull boss insisted that such a scenario was simply inevitable as no team would want to miss out on a chance to sign the Dutch driver.

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Of course, with the talent that he has, I’m sure he’s on every team principal’s Christmas wish list. That’s inevitable.

Christian Horner told Motorsport.com

Max Verstappen has ‘no desire’ to leave Red Bull

Despite the persistent rumors, Christian Horner insisted that if Red Bull continues to provide him the right car and the ideal environment, Verstappen would thrive at Milton Keynes. This would leave the reigning world champion with no desire to join a rival team. Previously, the 27-year-old had made it clear that he did threaten to leave the team last season.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

But, as long as we can continue to provide him with a competitive car and an environment that he enjoys racing in, I don’t see any desire for him to be anywhere else.

Christian Horner added

Performance remains the main concern for Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion will stay at Red Bull till he gets a car capable of fighting for the title. Verstappen might not even think twice before leaving if the Austrian team falls behind rivals over the course of the upcoming season.