Christian Horner issues warning to Max Verstappen as F1 dominance rolls on

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Christian Horner on the grid at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.

Christian Horner has urged Max Verstappen to enjoy being in the moment, with no promises about what Red Bull can give him in the future.

Verstappen currently leads the 2024 Drivers’ Championship, with Red Bull enjoying a 1-2 as the Milton Keynes-based squad stands at the top of the Constructors’ Championship.

Christian Horner: This is a golden moment for Max Verstappen

Now in his third year of dominance of F1, Verstappen looks nailed on for a fourth consecutive championship with the RB20 looking every bit as competitive as last year’s all-conquered RB19 – the most dominant car in F1’s history.

With Verstappen having won four of the five races so far this season, it was put to Horner that his relentless winning has become boring – even in his native Netherlands – at which the team boss scoffed.

“I think that you have to appreciate success and Max is a special talent, it is a golden moment for him,” he said.

“As we’ve seen with every single driver, it doesn’t last forever and I think it’s enjoying the moment, being in the moment.

“There are no guarantees that we’ll be able to give him a car like this every year for the next five years so it’s doing what you can, while you can.”

Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until the conclusion of 2028, but his future with the Milton Keynes-based squad no longer looks as assured as it once did.

While Horner has said there is “no ambiguity” about where Verstappen will race next season, Max’s father Jos has offered the biggest hint yet that the reigning World Champion is evaluating a new home for 2026.

“I think everyone wants him, only I think Max is right for the moment,” Verstappen said, as quoted by RacingNews365.nl.

“He has a fast car, but we also have to look further to 2026, so we are letting everything come to us at the moment. We stay very calm and see what will happen.”

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With chief technical officer Adrian Newey now confirmed as leaving the team after the first quarter of 2025, Verstappen also said the fear is that Red Bull will no longer be able to offer his son what he wants in order to keep his success going.

“The team is in danger of falling apart. I was afraid of that earlier this year,” Verstappen told Dutch publication De Telegraaf.

“For internal peace, it is important that key people stay on board. That is not the case now.

“Newey is leaving and earlier this year it also looked like Helmut would be sent away. For the future, that is not good.”

As for Verstappen’s ongoing dominance of the sport, one man who isn’t finding it boring is Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko.

“It’s not boring at all,” Marko told De Telegraaf.

“If the achievements of a sportsman are extraordinary, then you have to accept and be able to appreciate it. And above all, don’t say it’s boring. It’s Max’s credit.”