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Christian Horner has doubled down on claims within the Red Bull ranks.
By Amos Murphy
Christian Horner isn't worried about Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull. (Image: Getty)
Christian Horner has insisted Red Bull are pushing ‘hard’ on their engine developments ahead of the 2026 season, amid rumours Max Verstappen could leave for Mercedes. The Dutchman has been mooted as a potential option to replace Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows, with the seven-time world champion set to join Ferrari at the end of the current campaign.
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Changes to F1 cars are set to be introduced ahead of the 2026 season, with new engines which will use ‘significantly less energy and produce net zero exhaust CO2 emissions’. However, there had been suggestions that progress in the Red Bull garage wasn’t going as quickly as planned, with the Austrian constructor working behind schedule - something that had caused fears in the Verstappen camp.
That has been rubbished by Horner, who told motorsport.com: “With the engine, we’re on an aggressive curve being a brand new power unit manufacturer. But the team is really rising to that challenge.
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Max Verstappen sits top of the table in the F1 drivers' standings. (Image: Getty)
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“Our facilities are complete, both from a test and development point of view with dynos and rig rooms, etc, and manufacturing capability. But two years in the engine world is a very small period of time. We’re on a steep learning curve, but we’re on that curve and where we would expect to be on that curve at this point in time."
He continued: “We are hitting the targets that we’re setting ourselves. Now, how those targets stack up to our competitors is always difficult to know. But the effort that’s going in behind the scenes is huge, because it is literally a race against the clock to the start of 2026.”
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There had been chatter about Verstappen making the switch over to Mercedes, with team principal Toto Wolff stating he’d ‘love’ to snatch the three-time world champion out of Red Bull’s hands. But any Red Bull exit for Verstappen appears a long way off though, given the 26-year-old is contracted to the team until 2028.
It comes at a time when Verstappen has looked his imperious best on the track so far this season, having won three out of the first four races of the season. He’ll be keen to consolidate his position at the top of the Drivers' Championship with another first-place finish in China this weekend. It’s the first time since 2019 that the race has visited the Shanghai International Circuit, with the previous three seasons’ editions postponed due to Covid-19.
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Christian Horner Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Toto Wolff
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