INTERVIEW: Christian Horner survived a turbulent 2024, but how committed is Verstappen?

Along the way, his rivals took potshots, not least Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and McLaren CEO Zak Brown, aiming at times when Horner was down but not out.

On occasion the verbal gun barrel was directed at him personally, but also the team, in particular relating to the staff departures – notably Newey – but also when it was announced long-time sporting director Jonathan Wheatley was leaving to join the impending Audi project as team principal.

At one stage, even Mercedes driver George Russell claimed that "25 per cent" of Horner's Red Bull engineering team "were sending their CVs to Mercedes, to McLaren to Aston Martin.”

Horner had to batten down the hatches. One of the less pleasant sides of the business is the lengths undertaken to try and capitalise on issues in other teams.

"You have to remember that we came off a season where we didn't just dominate, we annihilated the opposition in 2023, and won 22 of 23 races,” He explained. “I've said it before, but the higher you rise, the sharper the knives, and they got pretty sharp at some points during 2024. But when there is so much at stake, other teams will use whatever tools they have to try and destabilise what has been a hugely successful team."

Horner insists he did not take the accusations personally. "You have to be pretty thick skinned in this business, and you just have to keep focused on your beliefs and commitments. We have a tremendous workforce, we have tremendous loyalty within the workforce, and passion for what people do. Without that passion, you wouldn't achieve the kind of results that we have."

Horner's two decades of leadership were sorely tested. There was no resting on any laurels, but instead a willingness to learn, to improve, to grow.

"You're always learning in life, always applying lessons," he said. "The day you think you know it all, or you're not learning, is the day you're going backwards. It's the same in life, it's the same with the car, it's the same with everything, that you're always learning, always applying lessons that you've learned to try and do things better in the future."

It appears the worst is now behind Horner, although there is one topic that will continue to be revisited and explored, and that is the future of Verstappen, regardless of the fact the 27-year-old still has another four years remaining on his contract.

When the Horner scandal was at its zenith last year, Jos Verstappen went so far as to threaten to pull Max out of Red Bull if the situation was not resolved to his liking. It then emerged that Helmut Marko, Red Bull advisor and long-time Verstappen ally, had a clause in his contract, that if he left the team, the Dutch driver could follow.

Wolff, in particular, made hay whilst the sun shone. He was in the market for a new driver following the bombshell announcement that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving for Ferrari at the end of the year, and made clear he would love for Verstappen to join Mercedes, doing his damnedest to destabilise the 27-year-old, Horner and Red Bull, all whilst knowing all along that Kimi Antonelli would be the chosen one.

Horner is aware that it is not the end of the matter. The biggest regulation change in F1 history is fast approaching, with new power units and chassis for 2026.

For the first time in Red Bull's 20-year history, it is developing its own powertrains rather than relying on a manufacturer. Naturally, there are no guarantees of success. Will Verstappen be willing to see out his contract if Red Bull is not in the thick of the fight?

Mercedes could come calling, and be alluring, if it can repeat its success last decade when the current 1.6-litre V6 turbo-hybrid systems were introduced and it had no equal for the first few years.

Or, will Verstappen be lured by the recent headline-making $1billion bait seemingly his for the taking to join Aston Martin, a team where money seems no object in its bulldozing quest for success, and where Newey will reside from 1^st March, seeking to further enhance his stellar record of success?

No matter, Horner is unconcerned. He maintains that "at no point" last year did he "have any concerns" that Verstappen wanted to leave.

"Max has a very open relationship with the team, and, of course, you discuss things openly, as in any form of partnership," said Horner. “He's made very clear what his position is towards the team. And, of course, you're always going to discuss things behind closed doors. That's normal operation.

"Every team is going to show interest in him because he is the exceptional talent that we all know, so you can only imagine he would be at the top of every team's list. There was a lot of noise. And usually, when the noise is so public, it tends to be more... The serious stuff is usually done behind the scenes, not through the media."

As to the future, one thing appears likely in that Verstappen's current contract with Red Bull (should he see it out) it may very well be his last in F1.

The Dutchman has made clear in the past that he has no intention of continuing into his 40s, as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have done. Verstappen is eager to pursue other motorsport interests, making no secret he would one day love to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours with Alonso, for example.

Whilst Horner may be able to fend off the conjecture of Verstappen joining another team, as to what looms further on the horizon is much more difficult to call.

"Honestly, Max is his own man," said Horner. "From all the conversations that have been covered by [the media], it's clear he doesn't see himself being a Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton and around in the sport for the next 15 years or so. He's got interests outside of Formula 1. He enjoys driving GT cars, simulators, LMP cars. He's very old school in many respects in that he just wants to drive, and some of the noise and circus around Formula 1 doesn't sit comfortably with him.

"I think that so long as he's getting the enjoyment out of what he does, he'll do it. But as soon as that enjoyment drops, he's got the strength of character and personality to say, 'Do you know what? I'm going to go and drive GTs next year.'

"He's unique in that sense that Formula 1 doesn't define him. He's doing it because he enjoys and loves it, and as soon as that enjoyment and love dips, he will go and do something else."

And so, we roll into a new season. 2025 should be a little easier for Horner this year compared to last – but for the ongoing saga as to the future of one of F1's now all-time greats.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.