Horner, 'Red Bull will not force Verstappen to respect the agreement until 2028'
Formula 1 team Red Bull will not force world champion Max Verstappen to fulfill his contract until 2028. Team director Christian Horner said so. “It's like anything else in life: you can't force someone to be somewhere just for a piece of paper,” Horner told autosport.com during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend in Jeddah. “If someone doesn't want to be on this team, then we're not going to force them, against their will, to be here.”
Verstappen-Mercedes, Toto Wolff dreams of Max
Meanwhile, Toto Wolff – as reported by SkySportsF1 – after the GP in Saudi Arabia does not hide Mercedes' interest in the 3-time F1 world champion (who at the end of the year will separate from Lewis Hamilton, the next Ferrari driver alongside Charles Leclerc). “I would like to have Max Verstappen in the team, but the first thing we need to do is fix the W15, improve it for George and Lewis before dreaming about next year. The interesting options to replace Lewis are there, but it will take months before we implement them. There isn't a team in the paddock that would revolutionize its driver fleet to have Max Verstappen among its team.”
F1: Verstappen world champion 2024: for bookmakers there are no doubts
Two races, just over a week, and Max Verstappen is already the 2024 Formula 1 champion for bookmakers. The Dutch driver dominated the rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and his share fell to 1.12 on William Hill and Better. There is still a whole season ahead, but Ferrari and Charles Leclerc know that a miracle will be needed to overtake Verstappen: the triumph of the Monegasque pays 11 times the stakes, behind Sergio Perez's other Red Bull on 8. Further away is Carlos Sainz, seen at 51. Behind Leclerc the two veterans Hamilton and Alonso, both proposed at 21.
As for the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull dominates at odds of 1.05 on William Hill, while Ferrari competes at 9.50. Mercedes and McLaren follow at 17.
F1: Briatore, 'Red Bull unbeatable, Ferrari second strength'
“This year Red Bull is even more competitive, much higher than last year and it has a huge gap with the others. Verstappen gives 8 tenths to everyone, never makes mistakes and the combination with Red Bull is as terrifying as Senna in McLaren, Alonso with Benetton or Schumacher in Ferrari. They are unbeatable right now. There is undisputed dominance of Red Bull and it is not good for Formula 1. Ferrari may be the second force in the world championship, but it is not a position suitable for Ferrari. The other teams – Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin – are all on the same line competing”. Thus the former Renault team manager, Flavio Briatore, on the microphone of 'La Politica nel Pallone' on Rai GR Parliament. “Red Bull does not will have no problems in terms of competitiveness. I don't think all this turbulence can affect the performance of the car, it's just a management problem. It remains to be seen whether Verstappen will stay there, but we are already talking about next year”, adds Briatore on the tensions at Red Bull.
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