Christian Horner has had the opportunity of working with some of Formula 1’s greatest talents at Red Bull, notably Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

The 52-year-old won four drivers’ titles each with Verstappen and Vettel in what were some of the most dominant eras in F1 history. Both were homegrown talents from the Red Bull academy, and they went on to become legends of the sport.

Interestingly, according to Helmut Marko, Horner disagreed with Verstappen’s promotion to Red Bull from Toro Rosso in 2016. However, it proved a masterstroke, as the Dutchman won on his debut in Barcelona, and went on to win four consecutive titles between 2021 and 2024.

Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen have scored the most points since round 7/23 in Barcelona 🌟 How will the drivers’ standings finish?

Christian Horner would love to have put Nigel Mansell next to Max Verstappen

With 73 wins and 136 podiums, the 29-year-old stands as one of the greatest drivers of all time and the best of the current generation.

His two latest victories were the first for Red Bull as an engine manufacturer, which Horner helped spearhead before his sacking in 2025. For the former team principal, Verstappen makes his dream F1 team.

However, rather than pick another current driver, or even Vettel, Horner would have a world champion from previous generations to pair with Verstappen. After considering the likes of Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark, he went with Nigel Mansell.

Discussing his dream team, he said on the Kidd in a Sweet Shop: “I loved working, obviously with Max, with Sebastian, but it’d be fun to take a driver from an old era as well, wouldn’t it? It would be fun to put a Mansell next to a Max, wouldn’t it?

“It’d be amazing to work with a Senna or a Jimmy Clark, or Jackie Stewart. I mean, it would be amazing, because that was an immense skill set in a totally different type of machine and the danger involved as well at that time. Yeah, stick Nige with Max. That would be fun!”

Mansell became F1 world champion with Williams in 1992. It would also be his only title, as he would go on to race in IndyCar, winning the championship the next year in 1993.

Give us YOUR Formula 1 Mount Rushmore

Mansell is one of F1’s oldest race winners, claiming his final race victory in Australia in 1994 as a 41-year-old. Along with that record, Mansell also holds a fairly unbeatable Silverstone record, claiming pole position by 1.9 seconds in 1992.

The Brit would be Horner’s pick for his dream teammate for Verstappen. Asked which team they would race for, he continued: “Which team? Well, look, my heart, obviously, was within the Red Bull team, so that’s where I would love to have seen [them].

“I think look, Williams, I was a big fan of growing up, when Nige had the red five on the front. That for me was the team that I used to follow growing up.”