‘A lot of noise’ – Horner responds to questions over Verstappen ‘conversations’ with Mercedes

Christian Horner has had his say on the reports that Mercedes are having "conversations" with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen about a possible switch, calling it “a lot of noise” as the chatter intensified in Austria.

The reports rose to the surface in Spielberg amid the situation surrounding George Russell's contract discussions at the Silver Arrows, with the Briton's current deal expiring at the end of 2025.

When quizzed in Austria about the process of agreeing a new deal, Russell stated that he was more focused on performance than “pressing massively” to get something signed, despite conceding that “it does help if there was pen on paper”.

He also went on to tell Sky Sports F1 that it was "only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing".

Verstappen himself also dismissed the talk over the weekend in Austria, instead wanting to focus on racing – while his boss Horner was also questioned about the reports.

“It is a lot of noise, and I think Max [Verstappen] gets quite annoyed by it,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“We are very clear with the contract we have with Max until 2028. Anything is entirely speculative that has been said. We tend to not pay too much attention to it.

“I can imagine George is frustrated that 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 are at, as does Max. Everything is subject to noise and obviously within the contract remains confidential to the two parties.”

Amid the continued speculation, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff asserted that it was still the case he and Russell wanted to continue the partnership, but recognised the team still needed to have certain conversations.

“[We’re] absolutely keen to continue the relationship,” said Wolff in Austria.

“Everything goes its normal course – we have agreed on timings and we’re absolutely within that framework, and it’s clear silly season starts now.”

"Some conversations you just simply need to have, but it doesn’t change my fundamental opinion about how the team is going to go forwards.”