Max Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen is a bigger fan of Toto Wolff than of Christian Horner, claims Helmut Marko

Christian Horner [L] and Jos Verstappen [R] | Getty

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has claimed that Max Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, is a bigger fan of Toto Wolff than of Christian Horner. The Dutch driver has been linked with a potential move to the German team, with the Austrian team boss revealing that there had been conversations between the driver and the squad during the summer break.

During the F1 Dutch GP, while hinting that Mercedes was possibly going to sign Kimi Antonelli for 2025, Wolff said he felt that the paths of Mercedes and Max Verstappen would coincide one day. The German team’s principal spoke of a meeting between Mercedes and Verstappen’s camp before the Dutch GP.

When the latter was asked about his presence at any meeting with the German team, the Red Bull driver said,

‘I don’t remember.’

Following this, on the Inside Line F1 podcast, Marko was questioned about the situation. The Austrian replied that any “good” team principal would try to approach Max Verstappen. In an interesting remark, however, Helmut added that Jos Verstappen was a bigger fan of Toto Wolff than of Christian Horner.

Marko said,

“He wouldn’t be a good team principal if he didn’t try and get Max. Monte Carlo doesn’t have many coffee shops, it’s natural you run into each other, and ofcourse, Toto makes stories out of it.

“On the other hand, Jos Verstappen is a bigger fan of Toto’s than he is of Christian. At the moment everything is clear, Max will drive for Red Bull Racing next season, and we have to give Max a car that win and all these rumors will stop immediately,” he added.

Max Verstappen’s response to Toto Wolff’s public pursuit

During the F1 Dutch GP, Max Verstappen was questioned about Toto Wolff’s very public approach towards him and if he thought the Austrian needed to stop. The Red Bull driver had a very interesting take on the situation.

Verstappen said there was “nothing wrong” in Wolff’s way of talking about his team, including the situation with drivers for 2025. He added he was going to “focus on my job.”

“No, I mean, everyone can say what they want. And I get on very well with Toto. I think he’s very open about what’s happening within his team, right? Also, I think with the driver line-up and stuff. So there’s nothing wrong with that. And at the same time, also, I just focus on my job. There’s a lot to do anyway. So, yeah, we just focus on that.”

With Red Bull’s form regressing recently, much has been said about the future of Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, the relationship between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner has been reportedly tense since the start of the season, and that’s something that could further play a role in Max’s decision regarding his future.