Christian Horner has hit out at Mercedes for the 'public openness' of their pursuit of Max Verstappen, and the impact on current Silver Arrows star George Russell.

Four-time world champion Verstappen was consistently linked with a move to the German giants - notably during the 2025 season. In the end he stayed put and recently signed a massive contract extension at Red Bull through 2030.

Horner, who is now deep in a media tour promoting his upcoming new memoir 'Drive', has spoken about how Toto Wolff and his team chased the signing of Verstappen.

The 52-year-old Englishman, who was sacked from his role in July 2025, says he also spoke to Russell about the potential for a move to Red Bull.

Horner 'surprised' by how Mercedes courted Verstappen

Horner, speaking in an interview with the BBC, said: “Everybody goes about their business differently. Mercedes are a great team, they’ve got a strong appeal to them, particularly with what they’ve achieved this year.

“I guess what I was surprised at was the public openness of the courting of another driver from another team when you’ve got two drivers in your team, which is basically meaning one of them is going to get dropped. That was all that surprised me.

“I felt very sorry for George Russell at that point because for all intents and purposes, it was him that was going to be dropped."

Horner Russell talks were not just to get back at Toto

Horner admits he held talks with Russell around the same time, but denies it was a move intended just to get back at Wolff.

“Look, I’ve always rated George very highly. As a team principal and CEO of an organisation, it’s your responsibility to have those conversations.

"It’s your responsibility to be engaging in the market and knowing what’s going with all those top drivers."

Horner claims there is one difference between his talks with Russell and Mercedes' pursuit of Verstappen.

“But better to do it behind the scenes than obviously publicly through the media. But as I say everybody’s different, it’s not saying one’s right and one’s wrong.”

Horner looking to get back into F1

Horner is currently still on the F1 sidelines after his sacking by Red Bull (he would later receive a £66.98million compensation package).

He is looking to return to the grid, but only if a suitable opportunity arises. He has been consistent in stating that would be with a bigger role than a mere team principal, and with an equity stake in the team.

Horner has been linked with Alpine, with Otro reportedly ready to offload their 24 percent stake in the French team. He says recent comments which suggested he might be open to a Ferrari role were taken out of context.