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As per the latest developments, Christian Horner aimed his jibe at the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff amid Max Verstappen's link with the Silver Arrows. The Red Bull honcho's dig at Wolff surfaced following Mercedes' underwhelming performances at the recently concluded Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Park Zandvoort.
Verstappen had prominent links with Mercedes over the past few weeks. Following the Brackley-based team's back-to-back victories in Austria, Great Britain, and Belgium, they intensified. This led to reports suggesting that there were internal talks between the Verstappen brigade and Brackley.
However, coming into the Netherlands, Mercedes' performance dipped as they were nowhere near the top three teams (McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari). George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished the race in P7 and P8. This led Horner to take a dig at Wolff.
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"Well, it’s down to us to deliver," Horner said to the media [Speaking about Red Bull's form and developments). "We have an agreement until 2028. So it’s down to us to deliver. I didn’t see Toto’s car performing that well today."
The Red Bull team principal also talked about how numerous reports about Max Verstappen moving elsewhere from Red Bull baffled him. That too amid a long-term contractual agreement between both parties.
“I find it surprising how much discussion in the open media there is about this topic. The situation was always clear between ourselves and Max and I think others can talk, but we’re comfortable with where we’re at," Horner stated.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull signed an agreement that keeps the three-time world champion at Milton Keynes till the end of the 2028 season. However, the contract also allows the Dutchman to trigger an exit clause and move out.
Toto Wolff revealed why he gave up on Max Verstappen, temporarily
Following Lewis Hamilton's decision to move to Ferrari in February this season, talks about landing Max Verstappen at Brackley have been intense. However, as per the latest developments, Toto Wolff and Company decided to call off the Dutchman's pursuit.
Revealing the reason behind it, the Austrian team principal said,
"We together came to the conclusion over the summer that we shouldn't be waiting for something to happen before committing for 2025, but let's just continue our job, Max at Red Bull and here at Mercedes taking our own driver decisions. And that was a kind of joint thought."
Mercedes is yet to announce Hamilton's successor and George Russell's teammate for the 2025 season. However, paddock chatters suggest that Kimi Antonelli could come up as the second Silver Arrows driver next year.
