Horner hints at championship battle amid Verstappen team-mate announcement

Christian Horner has warned of an impending world championship battle amid the announcement regarding Max Verstappen's team-mate for 2025.

Verstappen has won three consecutive drivers' world championship titles, and has helped Red Bull to back-to-back constructors' titles too.

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However, there are signs that perhaps Red Bull's dominance in the sport is coming to an end, with both Ferrari and McLaren beating them to race victories so far in 2024.

Sergio Perez started off the season strongly, but his poor performances in the last few races has led to the Milton Keynes-based outfit's championship lead diminishing to just 24 points.

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Despite this, Perez's four podiums in the opening eight races of the season have been enough to see him land a contract extension.

Red Bull announced that he will be staying with the team not only for the 2025 season, but also for when new regulations sweep into the sport for 2026.

With both Ferrari and McLaren having extremely strong driver line ups confirmed heading into the new regulations, Horner believes it was vital for Red Bull to follow suit and quell any uncertainty in a season in which the champions look to have a championship battle on their hands.

“Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo," the Red Bull team principal said on the team's official website.

"Continuity and stability are important for the team and both Checo and Max are a successful and robust partnership, securing our first ever one-two finish for the team in the championship last year.

"Checo has had a strong start to 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China. The past few races have been tough, there is convergence on the grid, but we are confident in Checo and look forward to his return to proven form and performance, that we so often see.

"Last year was a unicorn season and we will need to work hard to retain our titles, but we are assured in our line up and with the team as a whole, which is imperative in what is shaping up to be a close-fought championship this year.”

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