Christian Horner concedes one of F1 2024’s headline topics was “inevitable” – not Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull but rival team bosses courting Red Bull’s star driver.

By Red Bull’s lofty standards, 2024 was the team’s annus horribilis as they had to deal with an investigation into Horner’s alleged behaviour, in which he was cleared of any wrongdoing, the departure of design legend Adrian Newey, and rival teams closing the gap on the track.

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull commitment was ‘unwavering’

Then there was Max Verstappen and almost constant questions about his future with Mercedes openly courting the Dutchman and Aston Martin also chipping in, despite Verstappen having a contract that runs through to 2028.

Toto Wolff led the charge for Verstappen’s signature as he sought a replacement for the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton, and wasn’t shy in making it known amidst reports of meetings in Monaco with Verstappen’s management and a Mercedes ‘war chest’ to lure him away from Red Bull.

Speaking about Mercedes’ potential driver line-up, he called Verstappen an “alternative scenario”, adding that he will “continue to observe the market, I’m not sure how the situation will evolve at Red Bull.”

He later stated that the prospect of signing Verstappen wasn’t “zero”, but that the odds were “maybe there were 10 to 1, nine to one.”

In the end it was zero, Verstappen declaring he would be a Red Bull driver in 2025 and Mercedes signing Kimi Antonelli to replace Hamilton.

But while all that rumbled on in the headlines, Horner says he never doubted Verstappen’s commitment to Red Bull and that he would continue with the team in 2025.

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“Max has always been crystal clear with the team,” Horner told Motorsport.com. “His commitment has been unwavering. He enjoys the people that he trusts and the people that he works with and enjoys very much being a part of this team.

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

“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.”

But while Verstappen was, according to Horner, always committed to Red Bull, there was a caveat according to the Dutchman – Helmut Marko.

Last year it was reported that Verstappen’s future with the Milton Keynes’ team was tied to Marko’s and that if the Austrian left, by choice or because he was pushed out, Verstappen too could walk away.

“For me, Helmut is a very key factor in that and he has to stay for me, for sure,” he told Sky F1 at the time. “I’ve always said that to the team, they know that.”

The 27-year-old recently told Dutch publication De Telegraaf that “wasn’t a bluff, and they know that within the team too.”

Horner was quizzed on that, downplaying the threat given that Marko isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“Well, Helmut hasn’t left and isn’t leaving, so I think that Max is… he recognises the value of team and that’s really, again, what he’s nurtured during this period,” the team principal said.

“When the car isn’t delivering as you hope, your pitstops have got to be strong, the strategy has gotta be good, your reliabilities gotta be there, you’ve gotta be making the right decisions at the right moments.”

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