Christian Horner stopped from signing the ‘perfect’ Red Bull driver after a last-minute move
Christian Horner recently shared that he tried to sign Charles Leclerc for Red Bull during his time as team principal, calling Leclerc the “perfect” fit for the team. Horner, who has been linked to a move to Ferrari in recent weeks, hasn’t been involved in Formula 1 since stepping down as Red Bull’s team principal and CEO in July 2025. Since then, he’s mostly stayed out of the spotlight but has been busy writing his first autobiography, *Drive*, which will come out later this October.
In the book, Horner talks about his nearly 21 years at Red Bull, the people he worked with, and the drivers he wanted to bring in but couldn’t. One surprising reveal is about Leclerc, who has spent almost his whole F1 career with Ferrari. Leclerc is now in his eighth season with Ferrari, coming up through their driver academy after debuting with Sauber in 2018. He recently signed a new multi-year deal reportedly keeping him at Ferrari until 2028, but that hasn’t stopped other teams from being interested.
It turns out Red Bull—and Horner himself—were among those interested. At the start of the 2023 season, Sergio Perez was in his third year with Red Bull and had recently finished third in the Drivers’ Championship. Perez had a contract through 2024 before being replaced by Liam Lawson in 2025. But things could have gone differently if Horner got his way and if Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko hadn’t stepped in.
Horner revealed, “I thought Charles could be the perfect driver for us.” He met with Leclerc’s manager in 2023, and Red Bull’s interest stayed strong for a while. However, Helmut Marko quickly told him to forget about Leclerc, just like with Fernando Alonso—another driver Horner wanted to sign. Horner knew this wasn’t Max Verstappen’s call, but someone else had decided it wasn’t the right move for Red Bull, which left him feeling disappointed.
Last year on the *Drive to Survive* Netflix series, Horner explained that Marko strongly pushed for signing drivers from Red Bull’s own academy instead of bringing in talent from other teams. Perez was a rare exception since he joined Red Bull after his contract with Racing Point expired in 2021. Almost every other Red Bull driver since 2009 came through their junior program. That approach continued with Lawson joining for 2025, then being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after two races. Max Verstappen’s current teammate, Isack Hadjar, is also part of the academy.
Besides Perez, the only other Red Bull drivers who weren’t part of the academy were Mark Webber and David Coulthard, with Coulthard joining Red Bull before their first F1 season in 2005.