- F1
Verstappen also says he would ‘not be surprised’ if Horner made a return to the paddock
Michael JonesFriday 28 November 2025 10:37 GMTComments
open image in gallery(REUTERS)
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Max Verstappen revealed that he remains in contact with former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and speaks to him ‘every race weekend’.
Verstappen and Horner formed a formidable partnership during the latter’s time at Red Bull which resulted in four world championship wins for the Dutch driver.
With Red Bull’s results seemingly in decline earlier this year, Horner was relieved of his duties as F1 CEO and team principal in July and agreed a payoff in the region of £80m. He had led the team to six constructors’ and eight drivers’ titles over 20 years at the helm.
Since then Verstappen has hauled himself back into the 2025 title race by winning four of the eight races staged since the summer break and now sits 24 points behind leader Lando Norris with two races to go.
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“Yes, every race weekend,” came Verstappen’s response when asked if he still talks to Horner following the latter’s departure from Red Bull.
Verstappen added: “He will send a message about anything; how the race went and keeping up to date with life. So, we are still in very good contact, absolutely.
“It is very important to acknowledge what Christian did for this team and the moments we lived through together; the first title in 2021, the rollercoaster of that year and emotions of the final race in Abu Dhabi. They are moments you will never forget.”
open image in galleryMax Verstappen has closed the gap on Lando Norris and could yet win his fifth world title (David Davies/PA Wire)Reflecting on Horner’s exit, Verstappen continued: “The problem we had is that there was a lot of stuff that was going on. We were lost with the car and that didn’t help in terms of keeping everything under control and quiet and people were leaving, too.
“But everything together with the change in team boss, plus suddenly understanding the car, by coincidence it just brought peace because people were then suddenly more confident again and that calmed things down.”
Horner has consistently been linked with a return to the F1 paddock and Verstappen agreed that it would not be surprising to see him come back.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he is back, right? I don’t speak to Christian about that because I don’t want to interfere,” he said.
“And maybe it was not good for us internally in the team, but for the F1 world, him against [Mercedes team principal] Toto [Wolff] or whoever, that was always enjoyable to see. Now everyone is too friendly.”
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