Horner reveals Marko blocked Alonso and Leclerc from joining Verstappen at Red Bull

Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that Helmut Marko blocked two high-profile attempts to sign Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc as Sergio Perez’s replacement for the 2025 season, according to Horner’s upcoming memoir, Drive.

Perez’s performances deteriorated sharply during 2024, prompting Horner to explore alternatives. The first candidate emerged at the Japanese Grand Prix, when Alonso — then driving for Aston Martin — told Horner directly that he wanted to partner Max Verstappen the following year. The approach went nowhere. “Helmut, apparently on behalf of Verstappen’s management team, made it clear that they were not happy with that idea,” Horner writes.

Horner then turned his attention to Leclerc, describing the Ferrari driver as “fast, strong over one lap” with “a determined character” who never publicly criticised his team despite evident frustrations at Maranello. “I thought he could be the perfect driver for us,” Horner writes. The verdict from Marko was identical: “Helmut told me that I should just forget about Charles as well. Just like with Fernando, it wasn’t going to happen.”

Significantly, Horner is careful to separate Verstappen from the decisions. “I knew immediately that that order did not come from Max,” he writes, adding that he was left disappointed but never identified who ultimately made the call.

With both options closed off, the seat went to Liam Lawson, a choice Horner admits left him uneasy. “He was young and inexperienced, with only eleven Formula 1 races under his belt,” he writes — a candid admission from a team principal about a driver his own organisation promoted.

Horner ran Red Bull for two decades before departing in July 2025. His account offers a rare inside look at the power dynamics within one of Formula 1’s most successful teams, and raises pointed questions about where real decision-making authority sat during the final phase of his tenure.