06 May 2023 , 18:43
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Christian Horner is not worried about star driver Max Verstappen walking away from Formula 1 any time soon despite the Dutchman's threat.
Verstappen made it clear he does not like the Sprint format that has been expanded this season and lost his temper over the modifications made to them again shortly before the first of the year in Baku.
He declared that more tweaking and experimenting from F12 bosses regarding the weekend structure will lead to him walking away. "I naturally, of course, hope that there won't be too many changes – otherwise I won't be around for too long," warned the Red Bull racer.
Martin Brundle was not convinced that Verstappen meant it. The Sky Sports pundit said he would be "surprised" if the double champion walked away from the sport and explained why he felt it was an empty threat.
"If he doesn't want to drive it, there'll be a million other people who do want to drive that Red Bull," said Brundle. "I think what he's trying to say is, using pleasant words, 'Don't mess around too much. Let's just evolve and massage this along. Don't keep changing the ground rules'. I get his point on that, but I don't really see why that would make him stop."
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Horner may well have been concerned when he first heard those words from his driver. But, when asked about it in a press conference in Miami, the Red Bull chief was relaxed and agreed with Brundle that it is unlikely that Verstappen will follow through on that threat any time soon.
Christian Horner is not concerned about Max Verstappen walking away from F1 (AP)He told reporters: "Well, thankfully, his contract has many years to run on it, so we don't see that as an imminent risk. But, you know, of course, he has an opinion on it and he'll always speak openly on it and voice his opinion.
"And I think that it's so hard to look too far down the road. Did Fernando Alonso think he'd be racing at 42? Probably not. I mean, Lewis Hamilton is in his latter 30s. So the future is just so difficult to predict. But I think it's great that drivers do have opinions and they don't just become stereotypes."
That contract Horner was referring to ties Verstappen down until the end of the 2028 season, when he will be 31 years old. But team adviser Helmut Marko has admitted there is an exit clause for the driver if the team's fortunes were to decline before then.