Verstappen bemused at the Horner departure rumours: 'No idea where they come from'

The Dutchman addressed these rumours about the possible departure of the Red Bull Racing team principal at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Thursday, after it was suggested that Horner would leave if the updates brought to Imola did not change the RB21.

GPblog had already confirmed that this is incorrect. Along with this, before teams and drivers travelled to Imola fr the first European race of the season, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko firmly denied the rumours of Horner's potential departure.

In Italy, it was Verstappen's turn to respond to the speculation surrounding the team principal of Red Bull.

"Honestly, I have no idea where they come from, to be honest," began a bemused Verstappen in an interview with Sky Sports Italy.

"Naturally, I don't really follow a lot of that, so people ask me questions about that, and I'm like, 'Honestly, I really don't know who even puts that in the world.' Of course, I think naturally, as a team, we are not entirely happy with how we are performing, but we're also working on trying to be more competitive," continued the four-time world champion.

There were also reports that Horner could be on the move from the Austrian team to make way for Oliver Oakes, who departed from Alpine. However, GPblog learned from various sources close to the matter that it was not true.

"But if you ask everyone this question, I think no one is happy or satisfied with their performance, you always want to be better, you want to perform more. That's what we're trying to do. So, for me, these rumours don't mean anything," concluded Verstappen.