Christian Horner claims the Max Verstappen camp and Helmut Marko blocked Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc’s move to Red Bull in 2025

By Pranay

October 14, 2026 2 Min Read

Christian Horner revealed that he wanted Fernando Alonso or Charles Leclerc to sign with Red Bull for the 2025 season. The former Team Principal then detailed how Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen’s camp blocked the two-time F1 champion and Monegasque’s move to Milton-Keynes outfit.

Red Bull let go of Sergio Perez after a disappointing 2024 season. They signed Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen’s teammate for the 2025 season. However, Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda just two races into the 2025 season.

Red Bull is known for promoting drivers from within its stable, including sister team Racing Bulls. But on rare occasions, as in the case with Sergio Perez, it has signed drivers from competitors.

Christian Horner, in his autobiography Drive, detailed how he wanted to sign Fernando Alonso or Charles Leclerc as Verstappen’s teammate. Alonso was also keen on joining Red Bull for the 2025 season.

“During the Japanese GP, Fernando even told me he was really looking forward to racing alongside Max the following season,” said Horner

However, the former Red Bull team principal went on to reveal that former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, and Verstappen’s camp, not Max himself, blocked the Alonso and Leclerc signings.

“I knew right away that order didn’t come from Max. Someone, somewhere, decided it wasn’t the right move for Red Bull. It disappointed me,” said Christian Horner.

Fernando Alonso showcased that he still had it within himself to compete for wins and championships during the 2023 season. The Spaniard scored multiple podiums in the AMR23 and was consistently outperforming the car.

Max Verstappen himself is an admirer of Alonso, and wants to race in the 24 Hours of LeMans with the two-time F1 champion.

Christian Horner sets the record straight about F1 comeback with Ferrari

Christian Horner spoke with The Times and explained how the role of F1 Team Principal at Ferrari is a ‘dream job’ and the only one he will consider without an ownership stake in the team. This started the rumors of Horner returning to F1 with the Scuderia.

However, the Briton recently came out and set the record straight, as he said (via the Independent)

“It was all taken out of context because I was trying to be respectful to the Ferrari brand because they are different to other teams.”

“It’s the longest-standing team and the most prominent team in Formula 1, and they’re not going to sell equity in it. It coincided with comments from drivers internally, and then you put two and two together and come up with eight.”

Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull in July 2025. The Briton has since then been linked to BYD, with reports of the Chinese manufacturer possibly joining F1 as the 12th constructor.