F1 2025: Christian Horner reveals Max Verstappen Red Bull replacement plan

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen in deep discussion — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Christian Horner reveals Max Verstappen Red Bull replacement plan

Verstappen has been linked with a move to Mercedes

Chris Deeley

Tuesday 8 July 2025 11:53 Updated: 11:41

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Christian Horner has named his ideal replacement driver for Red Bull, in the event that Max Verstappen be poached from his team.

Rumours in the sport recently have been swirling around the chances that the reigning drivers' champion will leave his team early to join Mercedes, with Toto Wolff hinting that he's trying to make a switch work.

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Verstappen has stayed typically quiet on the topic, with team boss Horner deflecting the majority of questions put to him as well, but the long-time team principal made a cheeky exception to that on Friday at the British Grand Prix.

Sat next to McLaren boss Zak Brown during media availability at Silverstone, Horner was asked which driver would be top of his list of potential replacements if Verstappen were to be stolen away from him.

Gesturing at the McLaren CEO sat next to him, the 51-year-old Red Bull supremo picked out championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Horner takes cheeky swipe at McLaren

While Horner was clearly speaking with his tongue in his cheek and a move for Piastri would take an awful lot of work - potential reigning champions rarely leave their teams without a drop-off in performance, for example - it's not unfeasible that one of the papaya pair could hit the market sooner than expected.

Title-challenging driver partnerships with two 'equally treated' number one options rarely remain smooth sailing for long, with either one driver clearly establishing dominance or a competitive fog descending within the team as the garage divides along tribal lines.

That's been the case throughout the history of the sport, opening the door for one of Piastri or Lando Norris to consider jumping ship for a team where they can get things their own way, and have a car designed around their own preferred style.

Speaking of car designs, the sweeping changes to sporting regulations for next season could knock the current grid order tail over tea kettle, and what seems like a dominant McLaren team this year could be playing catch-up in the mid pack as soon as this time next year.

While Horner was being cheeky by name checking Piastri as a possible Red Bull target, don't for a second think that it's outside the realm of possibility.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Mercedes FIA Christian Horner Toto Wolff