Former Red Bull CEO and Team Principal Christian Horner has revealed a shocking potential link between himself and Mercedes in Formula 1.
Horner has always been seen as a somewhat decisive figure in the F1 world. But a year after his departure from Red Bull Racing, the Briton dropped a major bombshell surrounding his potential involvement with the Mercedes F1 team.
In his new book, Drive, Horner admitted he was offered the role of Mercedes Team Principal over a decade ago. The now 52-year-old highlighted that the late Nikki Lauda offered him the position to lure him away from Red Bull.
This came after the Briton held talks with Lewis Hamilton, who was seeking an exit from McLaren.
In his account of the experience, Horner said he was “caught off guard” by Lauda’s visit to his home. After discussing the potential role with the Brackley team, the Briton said Lauda “laid out a series of dazzling numbers.” The numbers would have made up Horner’s salary if he took the role, with the Austrian claiming, “Red Bull will never pay you what Mercedes can.”
Despite the tempting deal and massive pay rise Horner would have received with Mercedes, he politely turned it down. Ultimately, confessing to the three-time World Champion he “felt a loyalty to Dietrich [Mateschitz] and the team.”
“So as much as I appreciate this, I am not going to join Mercedes,” Horner wrote.
The decision worked out for both parties, as Horner stayed with Red Bull until 2025. Claiming five Drivers’ Championships and three Constructors’ Championships between 2013 and 2025. Crucially claiming back-to-back championships with Sebastian Vettel in 2012, and 2013.
The success was equally apparent for Mercedes, which signed Toto Wolff, an Austrian businessman and former racer, who has served as team principal since 2017.
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