Will Buxton explains what ‘doesn’t make sense’ about Max Verstappen to Mercedes rumours after Christian Horner’s exit

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One of the most interesting aspects of Christian Horner losing his job as Red Bull Racing team principal is the impact it could have on Max Verstappen.

Red Bull are no longer in a position to win either championship this season unless Max Verstappen pulls off the greatest comeback in Formula 1 history.

Verstappen is currently 69 points behind the drivers’ championship leader, Oscar Piastri, and the gap seems to be increasing after every race.

Christian Horner was relieved of his duties on Wednesday, with Red Bull fourth in the constructors’ championship and Yuki Tsunoda doing his best to avoid sitting bottom of the standings.

Verstappen sent a message to Horner after the news broke, but it’s far from certain that he’ll continue to be a Red Bull driver long into the future as a result of his decision.

Mercedes have been linked with Verstappen, and a move is technically feasible ahead of next season.

Red Bull know that Verstappen has a get-out clause in his contract, and both Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, are coming to the end of their current agreements.

However, examining the situation, Will Buxton believes something doesn’t add up when it comes to the four-time world champion potentially joining the Silver Arrows.

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Buxton was speaking on The Fast and The Curious Podcast about Horner’s departure and explained: “The fascinating thing with this is obviously because it’s happened so soon, there’s no official word about why this has happened, and so everybody is kind of coming to the same conclusions, which is that there may be a couple of factors in this.

“And at the base of all of this, over the last 18 months, has been this swirling talk that actually the people who wanted Christian out more than anybody were the Verstappens.

“When I look at the last few months, and I look at the Max to Mercedes rumours, there is politicking in this because for me, the Max to Mercedes thing doesn’t weigh up.

“It doesn’t make sense because I don’t think they would want to get rid of George, and I don’t think they want to get rid of Kimi.

“And if you do get rid of George and put Max alongside Kimi, the prospect of destroying Kimi is vast.

“So, where have these rumours come from, and I believe there was some politicking in it because, ultimately, Toto isn’t Christian’s best friend. It’s interesting that suddenly Christian’s gone, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there had been negotiations behind closed doors.

“Max, what will it take to keep you here at Red Bull? It’s quite easy, actually. Could you get rid of Christian? Of course, Max, whatever you want and it’s done.”

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Martin Brundle believes Verstappen is more likely to stay at Red Bull now that Horner has left, but nothing appears to be set in stone at this stage.

It’s unlikely the Dutchman will release any sort of statement on the issue, and it won’t be until the Belgian Grand Prix that journalists will be given the opportunity to quiz him on his next steps.

In theory, this should be good news for Russell and Antonelli, but the British driver in particular, who was the likelier candidate to be moved on to make way for Verstappen.

However, Mercedes may want Russell to sign a short-term deal, which would allow Toto Wolff to continue his pursuit of Verstappen moving forward.

If Mercedes are as strong as everyone expects them to be next season, then Russell will want to commit his future to the Silver Arrows for the foreseeable future, but Verstappen will almost certainly want a piece of the action.