Verstappen admits Red Bull now ‘less stressful’ without Horner

Max Verstappen has offered a surprisingly candid assessment of life at Red Bull since Christian Horner’s departure, admitting that the atmosphere inside the team is now “less stressful” without the tension that had increasingly surrounded the Milton Keynes outfit.

The Dutchman spent the entirety of his Red Bull career working under Horner, winning all four of his world championships during the Briton’s two-decade tenure as team principal and CEO.

Yet Verstappen makes little attempt to disguise his preference for the calmer dynamic that has followed Horner’s exit.

Horner was removed from his position after the 2025 British Grand Prix, ending a 20-year association with Red Bull that had produced multiple drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

Verstappen welcomes calmer Red Bull

For Verstappen, the difference is not necessarily about who is right or wrong. It is simply about removing an additional source of pressure from an environment where the pressure is already considerable.

"To be honest, I like to see people get on. It is not nice when you constantly have tension between people,” Verstappen told the Press Association.

The four-time champion acknowledged that the public drama surrounding Red Bull had its entertainment value, particularly for those watching from outside the team.

But he made it clear that he would rather sacrifice some of that spectacle for a healthier working relationship.

"Of course, from the outside, people like it, but honestly between the teams, it is better when you have just a friendly relationship,” he added.

"It is not as spicy, but I obviously quite like how things are going at the moment with everyone's behaviour, let's put it like that.

"It is less stressful. We are all leading a stressful life and when you can take a bit of stress out at times, it is good.”

It is a striking endorsement of the post-Horner era from a driver who shared some of the most successful years of his career with the former team boss.

Horner’s Ferrari ambitions don't concern Verstappen

Horner, meanwhile, has hardly disappeared from the Formula 1 conversation.

The former Red Bull chief recently reignited speculation about his future by admitting that Ferrari would represent his “dream” role should he return to the sport. Verstappen, however, appears distinctly uninterested in where his former boss eventually lands.

"He has shown he did a good job. Of course, people spread a lot of rumours and I don't know how much of that is true,” Verstappen said of the speculation linking Horner with Ferrari.

"I don't want to sound rude, but it is also not my problem or concern. He wants to come back and if there is a good opportunity I am sure he will but I don't know where that is going to be.”

Verstappen himself has removed much of the uncertainty surrounding his own future, having committed to Red Bull through the end of 2030.

That long-term commitment also explains why the prospect of Ferrari does not appear to hold the same attraction for him as it might for other drivers.

Asked whether he could ever be tempted to race for the Scuderia, the four-time world champion reduced the question to the one thing that ultimately matters to him.

"I only want to win,” he commented.

"I am not a nostalgic type. Do I have a lot of respect for the [Ferrari] brand? Absolutely. But if that means you then commit yourself, and you are driving P5 or P6, what's the point?

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"I am very performance-driven, and I have won a lot with this team already. It is a second family at Red Bull, and the challenge of rebuilding is what's driving me."

For Verstappen, then, Red Bull's new chapter is not about recreating the past. It is about winning again, preferably without all the unnecessary tension that came with it.

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