Horner refuses to let go of Red Bull as messages sent to Verstappen revealed

19:10, 26 Jul

Updated: 18:21, 28 Jul

byMarnik Kok

Christian Horner is no longer Red Bull’s CEO and team principal as he’s been dismissed from his role. That should be the end of the story, but the former boss of Max Verstappen is still in contact with the Dutch driver.

Christian Horner was let go of the position he held for over 20 years, and has now been replaced by Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s new team principal.

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Still, Horner hasn’t completely stepped away. He remains involved with both Verstappen and the team. Even though he wasn’t present, he and Max Verstappen have stayed in touch.

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen

Messages between Verstappen and Horner revealed

The messages might not be anything groundbreaking, but Horner clearly isn’t ready to let go of Formula 1—especially not of Max Verstappen. According to De Telegraaf, Horner has been messaging Verstappen from his home in Oxfordshire.

On Thursday, he wished Max good luck for the race weekend in Belgium, and after the four-time world champion won the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps, Horner sent his congratulations.

What does Red Bull make of all this? That’s anyone’s guess. Horner is still employed by Red Bull on paper, so the communication isn’t entirely out of bounds. Whether the rest of the team is happy about it, though, is another matter.