Horner on how Red Bull pinched Max from Mercedes
Date published:
July 25 2021
- Jon Wilde
Christian Horner has described how Red Bull beat Mercedes to the signing of Max Verstappen as a prodigiously talented 16-year-old.
It came down to a battle of two uncompromising Austrians, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda, after the “karting jungle drums” had been beating about Verstappen’s potential.
Of course, it was Red Bull who won the day, giving the Dutchman his F1 debut with their ‘sister’ team, Toro Rosso, in the Australian Grand Prix less than six months after his 17th birthday.
Only 14 months later, Verstappen was promoted to the senior Red Bull squad and remarkably won on his debut for them at the Spanish Grand Prix to become Formula 1’s youngest driver to lead a lap, finish on the podium and notch a first victory all on the same day.