In one of his final acts as Red Bull team principal and CEO, Christian Horner has claimed he approached George Russell's management team over a potential move to the Milton Keynes team, while Mercedes pursued their own move for Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Frustrated with Mercedes' "public courting" of Verstappen, Horner says in his new autobiography, Drive, that he decided to "fight fire with fire" and go after Russell, claiming that an approach for the Silver Arrows driver came at the British Grand Prix in July 2025 - days prior to Horner's Red Bull departure.

Mercedes' long-standing interest in Verstappen, particularly that of team principal - and Horner arch-nemesis Toto Wolff - ramped up during last season to become one of 2025's main storylines. Amid doubts over Red Bull's competitiveness, and a performance-based exit clause, Wolff admitted conversations had been held over the Dutchman's potential switch to Mercedes.

This August, however, Verstappen put to bed any rumours of a move away from the Austrian team, with McLaren having been strongly linked throughout the first half of the 2026 season. Red Bull announced a contract extension that will see Verstappen race with the team through 2030.

Horner reveals Verstappen talks at 2025 British GP

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Telling his side of the story during Mercedes' 2025 pursuit of Verstappen, Horner said he "shrugged off" the rumours, initially feeling sorry for Russell, who had been tipped as the Mercedes driver likely to have been replaced by Verstappen.

"This situation was being aggravated by Toto, who was still doing everything he could to lure Max to Mercedes," Horner wrote, as per ESPN. "There were more dinners and the public courting continued unabated. At one point, Flavio [Briatore] approached me to say that Toto was convinced that Max would be a Mercedes driver in 2026.

"I shrugged it off. Max hadn't indicated that he wanted out, so these developments were frustrating, but ultimately irrelevant. By that stage, I felt sorrier for George Russell. As a Mercedes driver, he must have been bemused at the situation."

Nevertheless, Horner recalls going directly to speak with the Dutchman at the British GP, "tired of the drama" stoked up by Mercedes continued courting, and Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko's claims that "our star driver was almost certain to leave" if he was not in contention for the championship at the summer break.

Horner continued: "A few days ahead of the race, I met Max at Silverstone. 'I'm taking my Red Bull hat off,' I said. 'What do you want out of all this?' Max wasn't one for sugar-coating his ambitions. 'I want to win. But I don't want to have to leave to do it.'

"Well, that was good news. 'Mercedes are making noise,' he continued. 'And of course the media writes what suits them. But Christian: I started my career at Red Bull. I want to finish it here, too.'

"I felt optimistic. Though Max wasn't done. 'But, if can't provide me with a competitive car, I'm going to have to look at that...' Horner claims he told Verstappen he could not guarantee a competitive Red Bull under the new 2026 engine regulations, but that he would have plenty of options available for the following year if the team struggled.

"I really don't want to go anywhere. My preference is to stay here and win,' he said," Horner wrote, before revealing talks at the British GP with Williams' Carlos Sainz over Red Bull's second seat as Yuki Tsunoda continued to struggle.

Horner added: "On the Thursday night, ahead of practice, Carlos Sainz Jr visited the house to discuss a potential 2026 move to Red Bull. He was an established Grand Prix driver, a team player, and I knew he'd work his backside off for the team."

Horner 'fought fire with fire' and approached Russell 

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

But Horner had another idea. Still put out by Wolff's pursuit of Verstappen, he decided to "fight fire with fire" and make contact with Russell's camp. The 52-year-old said: "Having grown tired of Toto's challenging approach, I decided to fight fire with fire and approached George Russell's management for a meeting.

"George was coming to the end of his contract, and if it was OK for Toto to constantly talk about my drivers, then I saw no harm in talking to his about a potential move to Red Bull.

"I initially stated my confusion at Mercedes's attitude to George's contract. I asked his advisor why they weren't taking up his option for the following year when he had performed so strongly.

"I then explained how, in my opinion, it was obvious that Toto was waiting for Max to make his decision and was messing George around in the meantime. I also felt Toto's public courting was disrespectful to such a talented young driver. He should consider Red Bull."

Ultimately, however, the Red Bull CEO and team principal departed the Milton Keynes team just a matter of days after the Silverstone race, with Russell going on to sign a contract extension with Mercedes that October.

While rumours continue to swirl over Horner's F1 return, Russell will hope for a strong end to a difficult 2026 campaign - currently 102 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers' standings - and another chance at the title in 2027.