Max Verstappen silences Christian Horner Red Bull axe rumours

Max Verstappen has silenced rumours that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is set to be fired following this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. 

Horner has led the Milton Keynes-based outfit since it entered Formula 1 in 2005, yet rumours started to fly that he could face the axe after Imola. 

It has been a difficult season for Red Bull, who look in no position to fight for the constructors' title this season, having already fallen 141 points behind McLaren. 

The Austrian team has faced issues with its RB21, which has had several upgrade packages thrown at it – including this weekend. 

Its second seat has remained a problem, with Sergio Perez's replacement Liam Lawson having been demoted back to Racing Bulls after just two races. 

Yuki Tsunoda has failed to sparkle thus far, leaving all the pressure on Verstappen to perform. The four-time world champion has delivered big results, having claimed three poles and one win.

He has insisted that the rumours surrounding Horner's immediate future are innacurrate, with the entire Red Bull team being unhappy at its current results.

"Honestly, I have no idea where they come from, to be honest," Verstappen told Sky F1. "Naturally, I don't really follow a lot of that. 

"Also, people ask me questions as well about that. And I'm like, honestly, I really don't know who even puts that in the world. 

"Of course, I think naturally, as a team, we're not entirely happy with how we are performing, but we also working on trying to just be more competitive. 

"But naturally, I think if you ask everyone this question, I think no one is happy or satisfied with their performance. You always want to be better. You want to perform more. That's what we try to do. So for me, these rumours, they don't mean anything."