‘Big change’ – Christian Horner warns Formula 1 about historic new rules that could end Max Verstappen’s dominance

On a night when he was booed in London, Christian Horner loudly praised the sport that has given him a global name.

Horner, Red Bull CEO and team principal, was surrounded by sign after sign along the River Thames that captured F1’s sudden climb from a niche European pastime to a growing American fascination.

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“The growth of the sport has been amazing,” Horner exclusively told talkSPORT before F1 75.  

“If you look at where we are — here we are launching ten teams at the 02. If you’d have talked about that ten years ago, I don’t think you’d have got anybody south of the river from any of the any of the teams.

“The sport is in a different place: 24 races, three US races. If I look at our own team, the amount of partners that we now have are in excess of 50 partners.

“On board, we have five Fortune 500 companies that are part of the team, and just the growing appeal of Formula 1 has never been stronger.”

Seconds after highlighting F1’s unprecedented growth, Horner sounded an alarm.

A sport devoted to constant change and improvement is one year away from its biggest alteration in five decades.

For Red Bull and other teams, 2026 could soon be more important than 2025, and failure to leap ahead next season could create lasting damage in the paddock.

Chassis, power units and aerodynamics are set to change in ’26, while an 11th team will be added.

“This year is set to be super, super competitive, which is very, very exciting,” Horner said.

“I think where there is a little bit of apprehension is we have a big regulation change for 2026.

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“So it’s the first time car and engine in probably 50 years have been changed simultaneously. And inevitably there will be a divergence of performance at that point.

“It’s really important that FIA and the commercial rights holder, they make sure that the boundaries of that, that there’s the ability to recover quickly.”

Max Verstappen has won four consecutive F1 driver’s championships, but his future with Red Bull was questioned throughout last season with massive 2026 car changes looming.

While F1 promoted itself with pop, punk, selfies and comedians inside a sold-out 02, lower-level drivers acknowledged that 2025 was already a wash on the track and being relevant in ’26 was the primary objective.

If there was any remaining doubt about the Americanization of F1, the sport’s super-flashy 75th-year celebration inside a buzzing 02 erased it.

F1 75 had more in common with the NFL’s made-for-TV Super Bowl media night than rickety grandstands erected in grass fields.

With General Motors/Cadillac joining F1 in 2026 as a long-delayed 11th team, a sport that bounces between Australia, Saudi Arabia and China from March until December will soon become more American than ever.

Horner again balanced praise with caution as F1 aims for further and faster.

“I think that you’ve got to keep the DNA of the sport,” he told a group of reporters crowded in a small room.

“Of course, sport is entertainment and nobody does sport better than the US. And obviously being owned by Liberty Media as a US media company, it’s inevitable they’re going to be pushing this side of Formula 1.

“It’s important not to lose sight of the DNA of the sport. But, of course, the fans are the reason that we’re here, they’re the reason that the sport is in as good a shape as it is.

“What’s really been fantastic is the engagement from a much younger, much more diverse audience over the last few years.

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“It’s a matter of really embracing that and being able to give back.”

Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari, Verstappen trying to again hold off McLaren’s Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz attempting to revive Williams give F1 enough 2025 storylines for 20 episodes of ‘Drive to Survive.’

With four teams (McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes) strong enough to win weekly, the ’25 campaign could represent a new commercial peak for F1.

Yet NASCAR’s two-decade decline in the United States is a painful reminder of the dangers of racing overexpansion in a country that is ultimately obsessed with one sport, the NFL.

Williams’ failed Logan Sargeant experiment is also proof that pushing F1 in America has a limit.

Sargeant was hyped last season as a USA breakthrough for Formula 1.

The 24-year-old burned through almost $4 million in car repairs, Williams finished 649 points behind first-place Ferrari, and there were reports this week that Sargeant might be stepping away from racing.