Horner, who had dedicated 20 years to developing Red Bull, was fired by the team with the twin bulls logo. Despite this, the close relationship between Verstappen and Horner remains.
"I've built a bond with Christian and achieved a lot, especially in the 2021 season, and those moments too. I'll never forget them," Verstappen said, as quoted by Motosport on Saturday.
"Christian really fought hard for me. Things like that are always difficult when you're talking to each other on the phone," he added.
Horner's 2025 season didn't have a good season after a series of disappointing results at the start of the season. This prompted Red Bull shareholders and management to move to remove Horner and replace him with Laurent Mekies.
In addition, this man from England had created a less conducive team atmosphere after experiencing accusations of inappropriate behavior towards a female employee, there was also a power struggle in management after the death of the founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, and the team dropped to fourth place in the F1 standings.
