Christian Horner contradicts Helmut Marko’s open discussion of Carlos Sainz’s move to Red Bull
Team principal Christian Horner has publicly contradicted advisor Helmut Marko’s statements about Carlos Sainz’s contractual scenario with Audi.
Amid rumours of driver changes ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Red Bull Racing is at the centre of an internal contradiction. Team principal Christian Horner has been forced to respond to claims by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about the possible hiring of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
Marko recently revealed that Red Bull are in contract talks with Sainz, acknowledging that the Spaniard has won a very lucrative offer from Audi, which Red Bull could overcome. Marko also spoke about the private history between the Scuderia driver and Red. Bull, recalling the beyond of Sainz’s sadness when Milton Keynes favoured Max Verstappen over him.
“We inform him that he is having his most productive season in Formula 1. But he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can’t fit in or beat,” Marko said at the time.
However, Christian Horner provided a very different perspective, pointing to the speculative nature of the existing scenario and questioning any concrete wisdom from donations made to Sainz through other teams. This contrasts with Marko’s detailed acknowledgment of Audi’s interest and suggests a more cautious official stance. by Red Bull.
“As for the other driving forces, that’s natural speculation. We have no idea if Audi has introduced Carlos, who is a key driving force in the open market, and so it’s only natural that there would be significant interest. “I’m sure Audi would be foolish if it didn’t have an engine of its quality among the others available,” Horner explained.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz himself has remained cautious about his future, reflecting on the broader market dynamics and strategic decisions at play. Despite the high stakes, Sainz focused on maintaining his functionality at Ferrari, keeping his duties open and his mind largely for himself while performing as productively as possible.
“All my functions are still open, which I think is a positive thing,” Sainz admitted.
“There comes a point where the faster everything develops, the better, because at the same time, it’s not like it’s affecting my functionality at all this year. But the faster you get out of your head, the better. But it takes time and some decision-making. It’s time to let that happen and see how things progress,” Sainz said.
With current Red Bull driver Sergio Perez also surrounded by rumours about his future, tension within the team is rising.