Berger: Verstappen will stay at Red Bull despite Horner ousting

The future of Verstappen remains in the spotlight as the ramifications of Horner's departure after 20 years in the Red Bull Racing hot seat continue to unravel.

Horner paid the price of Red Bull Racing's recent performance slump, as the team apparently did not recover from their boss' sexting scandal in 2024.

Verstappen is fighting to defend his title with one hand behind his back, as he has to work hard every grand prix weekend to tame his RB21, which proved to be an impossible task for his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced Liam Lawson, the latter starting the season with Red Bull Racing but only competing in two races before being sacked.

Laurent Mekies has been drafted from Racing Bulls to replace Horner and has admitted the uphill task he faced in order to turn the situation around in Milton Keynes.

Berger, a former co-owner of Racing Bulls when it was still called Toro Rosso, gave his view on the evolving situation at Red Bull Racing and gave some advice.

“Red Bull is clearly in a downward spiral,” Berger pointed out. “The goal must not be to win the World Championship immediately.

"The most important thing is to stabilize the team and reintegrate Verstappen properly," the winner of ten grands prix advised.

The Horner sexting scandal has led to a civil war within the team, with Verstappen's father, Jos, calling for the Briton's head to roll.

So what will the position of the Verstappen camp be now that Horner is out? Especially as the Dutchman is linked to Mercedes and Aston Martin.

"Max has always emphasized that he wants to stay with Red Bull," Berger noted, "and I believe he will continue to do so even after Horner’s dismissal.

"As we know, the relationship between Verstappen and Horner wasn't the best. His departure could be a deciding factor in Max's permanence," he reckoned.

Horner maintained he was surprised by the decision to let him go, and Berger was intrigued saying: "It was clear that things would go that way.

"If he didn’t realize it, it’s not a good sign," the 65-year-old Austrian concluded.

(Quotes from Kronen Zeitung)