Christian Horner hoses down 'eye-watering' Max Verstappen rumours
Christian Horner has insisted Max Verstappen is "very happy" at Red Bull, despite reports he's been offered a deal worth an astonishing $2 billion to join Aston Martin.
Contracted to the Milton Keynes squad through to 2028, Verstappen has been rumoured to follow legendary designer Adrian Newey to the legendary British brand for months.
The Daily Mail (UK) triggered the latest flurry of chatter when they reported he'd been offered a £1 billion deal.
READ MORE: Young star blows podium with 'stupid mistake'
READ MORE: Ugly Broncos slide laid bare by NRL top 50 axings
READ MORE: Super Bowl champ's dad forced into embarrassing reveal
"I know you guys [the media] have all got column inches to fill over a winter period, but a billion-pound driver, a billion dollars, it would be an eye-wateringly large amount of money," Horner said at the F1 season launch in London this week.
Max Verstappen at the F1 season launch in London. Getty
"I think Max is very happy in the environment that he's in. He's grown up in the team, he has a great relationship with the team, the engineers, the technicians and everybody that he works with.
"It's down to us to provide a competitive car and continue to give him the platform to be able to achieve the results that he has over the last almost 10 years."
Horner was coy when asked if Red Bull could afford to make a counter-offer of a similar value.
"I can't comment on other teams' finances, but Red Bull are relatively well-positioned, I would think, compared to others within the pit lane," he said.
Verstappen laughed when asked about the report later, and conceded it was "a lot of money".
He also admitted he had indeed been in contact with Aston Martin, but it had nothing to do with F1.
"Honestly, when I read that, it's the first time that I saw something like that," he said.
"The only contact that I had with them was about GT3 for this year. That's it. There's not much to say, really, because there isn't anything."
Verstappen is finally carrying out a long-held desire to start his own GT3 team this year, and had been in contact with Aston Martin. It's unclear if he's spoken to any other manufacturers.
The 2025 F1 season will kick off with pre-season testing in Bahrain from February 26-28, before the opening race in Melbourne on March 16.
