Verstappen 'Annoyed' by Mercedes Rumors, Horner Claims Amidst Contract Speculation

SPIELBERG, Austria – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has asserted that recent rumors linking Max Verstappen to Mercedes have "annoyed" the four-time world champion during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff publicly acknowledged his interest in Verstappen on Friday. However, on Saturday, he tempered expectations by stating there was "a very low probability" of luring the Red Bull driver away.

Wolff clarified that any potential move for Verstappen would be a "long-term" prospect, given the driver's existing contract with Red Bull that runs until 2028.

The speculation gained traction at the Red Bull Ring after Mercedes driver George Russell indicated that his own contract renewal discussions were being delayed due to his team's pursuit of Verstappen.

Horner sought to downplay the rumors following Saturday's qualifying session in Austria, where Verstappen secured only the seventh-fastest time.

"It's a lot of noise," Horner told Sky Sports. "I think Max gets quite annoyed by it. We're very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028. Anything is entirely speculative that is being said. We tend not to pay too much attention to it."

"I can imagine that George is frustrated he hasn't been given a contract yet. But that's between him and his team. The situation with Max, we know clearly where we're at and as does Max. Everything is subject to noise and with any contract it remains confidential between the parties."

Verstappen qualified seventh for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix after he was forced to abort his fastest lap in the final sector when yellow flags were displayed following a spin for Pierre Gasly.

The Red Bull driver, currently third in the drivers' standings and 43 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, acknowledged that his car lacked the pace to challenge Lando Norris for pole position on Saturday.

"It would have been close, potentially, up until the yellow flag -- but it's still miles off pole," Verstappen said. "In the end, it's not really that painful."

He added, "FP3 wasn't too bad but somehow in quali it just completely disappeared. There was not a single corner I felt happy in the car and then that is of course a big problem in qualifying."

"Depends how you look at it ... I don't really look at the standings, I just try to do the best I can in the race weekend. Hopefully tomorrow we can at least be competitive with Ferrari, or Mercedes, but I don't know because with the balance I had in quali that is not going to look great tomorrow. We'll analyse everything."