Red Bull team principal Christian Horner gifted Mercedes rival Toto Wolff a boost in his dreams to sign Max Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Silver Arrows remain hopeful about poaching Verstappen with boss Wolff still to fill their second seat. Mercedes are in the market for a new driver for 2025 after Hamilton broke out of his contract in February. He also signed a multi-year deal with Ferrari that starts next year.
Verstappen has long been Wolff’s top target to replace Hamilton but he is under contract at Red Bull until 2028. The 26-year-old can free himself from the deal under certain conditions should he wish. But expectations had matured that the Dutchman will stay in Milton Keynes.
Max Verstappen took issue with Christian Horner highlighting his Monaco GP mistake
Now, however, F1-Insider reports that Verstappen and Red Bull chief Horner clashed at the Monaco GP. It has also re-opened an avenue for the three-time reigning champion to leave the team and join Mercedes in 2025. A move to Brackley before 2026 had become unlikely.
Horner frustrated Verstappen in Monte Carlo having criticised the Dutchman after making a costly mistake during qualifying. The 50-year-old highlighted how his lead driver went deep at Saint Devote before aborting his final run in Q3, which left Verstappen qualifying in sixth.
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Verstappen took issue with Horner highlighting his mistake as the Red Bull boss did not put a spotlight on teammate Sergio Perez. He opted against critiquing the 34-year-old after Perez only set the 18th-fastest time in Q1. But his decision did not go down well with Verstappen.
Max Verstappen is losing trust in Red Bull following two years of frustration
Mercedes’ hopes about signing Verstappen to replace Hamilton in 2025 have also increased due to the Dutchman’s decreasing trust in Red Bull. The 59-time Grand Prix winner feels the engineers in Milton Keynes do not take his advice seriously enough with improving their car.
Verstappen has also highlighted how Red Bull’s simulators have not produced accurate data compared to their cars’ on-track performances over the past two years. But the technicians at Red Bull have continually played down Verstappen’s distress having dominated Formula 1.
Christian Horner is boosting Toto Wolff’s dreams about signing Max Verstappen
Now, Horner frustrating Verstappen behind closed doors at the Monaco GP has only served to boost Wolff’s dreams about signing him for Mercedes. Wolff could also be improving the Silver Arrows’ chances of signing the Belgium-born driver as he gets close to Helmut Marko.
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Reports by Motorsport.com this March noted that Verstappen has a break clause in his Red Bull contract that allows him to leave if Marko moves on. Now, Wolff has admitted to OE24 that he has grown considerably ‘closer’ to the Austrian and does not rule out signing Marko.
“We have become much closer,” Wolff explained before the Monaco GP. “Despite the rivalry, there are common values that we stand for. With all the things that have happened in the past few months, we have realised that we think alike.
“It’s less about Max than about the behaviour of some people [at Red Bull] where we think similarly. Let’s put it this way, anything is possible in F1 [regarding them both joining].”
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