Verstappen, is that you? “Emotionality betrays, I’m patient, I don’t worry”

Loyalty is important to the Dutch

Yesterday the news arrived that the employee’s appeal against Christian Horner – Red Bull team principal – has been rejected. Horner’s position at the head of Red Bull, therefore, seems more definitively consolidated than ever and in this perspective Jonathan Wheatley’s escape to Audi starting from July 2025 takes on more consequential meanings given that the sporting director of Red Bull (a position he will occupy until the end of this season) in Milton Keynes will remain ‘blocked’ by Horner just as James Vowles in Mercedes was blocked by Toto Wolff. Horner’s confirmation and Wheatley’s departure after that of Newey are all news that are not exactly welcome to the entourage of Max Verstappenwhile the driver has always tried to keep calm and to stand firm during interviews, especially regarding the topic of Newey’s departure, with Verstappen reiterating that Red Bull still has people of value on a technical level.

The RB20 has recently lost ground in terms of competitiveness and the latest upgrade packages have not worked properly, with Verstappen not hiding his disappointment, especially in Hungary. In Budapest the three-time world champion gave an interview to the local newspaper Formula.hu in which he commented on his future which sees him tied to Red Bull until 2028, but with Mercedes keeping a close eye on the situation in the hope that Verstappen decides to leave Red Bull in light of his illustrious departures combined with declining competitiveness.

“I think the most important thing is not to make decisions based on emotion, because that always takes you back. – Verstappen’s words – I am a patient personI don’t worry too much. Of course it means a lot and I appreciate the fact that I have a very long history with the team. Loyalty is very important and I think that is not always present in F1. Fortunately in my case it is there and I think it is mutual for us. The key people are staying with the team and now we have our own engine project. How is it going? I am very confident, but we have to be realistic. We have to fight against people who have been producing engines for over a hundred years. They have a lot of experience, but obviously we have also hired a lot of people”. If Wheatley was a key person according to Verstappen, these statements may have already been overtaken by events.