Verstappen 'has made it very clear that he’s part of the team' as Horner responds to Red Bull future talk

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has refuted claims that Max Verstappen is looking to move away from the Formula 1 squad, insisting the four-time World Champion “has made it very clear that he’s part of the team”.

Following a difficult Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, where Verstappen could only salvage sixth after being off the pace all weekend, rumours circulated that the reigning World Champion was considering his options for the 2026 season.

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This was fuelled by the energy drinks company's motorsport adviser Helmut Marko claiming he had "great concern" about the Dutchman's future with the team, which prompted speculation in the paddock ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend.

This included suggestions that Verstappen could jump ship to Aston Martin, reuniting with former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey to reform their partnership.

Asked about the speculation, Aston Martin Team Principal and CEO Andy Cowell brushed off any talk surrounding a potential move that would bring the Dutchman to the Silverstone-based squad.

Speaking ahead of qualifying, where Verstappen claimed a sensational pole position for Sunday’s race, Red Bull boss Horner insisted that Verstappen was committed to the team and that the focus was on turning around the RB21’s performance this season.

READ MORE: Verstappen explains how Red Bull car 'came alive' in Jeddah Qualifying as he vows to 'give it everything' in the race

“Everybody is focused on the car moving forward,” said Horner, when asked on F1 TV.

“There’s an awful lot of noise and that’s really what it is, it’s noise. Max is working super hard with the engineers, everybody is trying to find performance, of course there’s always going to be speculation but we’re very comfortable.”

When asked to directly clarify Marko’s comments, Horner added: “In the heat of a moment after the race there’s always going to be an emotive reaction.

“I think Max has made it very clear that he’s part of the team and we’re all in it together, we all want to sort and get some performance back on the car, get into the position we were two weeks ago in Japan. We’ve just got to pick up a bit of momentum, we know we’ve got some issues, we’re working very hard on them, hopefully we’ve got some solutions coming over the next few races.”

Verstappen currently sits eight points behind Drivers’ Championship leader Lando Norris but has a golden opportunity to claw back that deficit in Sunday’s race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit after the McLaren driver crashed in Q3 and will start 10th.

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