Horner said late F1 legend Niki Lauda approached him about taking charge of Mercedes before Toto Wolff was appointed to the role in 2013.

He made the revelation in his new book Drive, which is due to be released on Thursday, October 22.

The 52-year-old recalled that Mr Lauda visited his home during the Christmas break in 2012 after the pair had previously spoken about Mercedes signing Lewis Hamilton from McLaren.

Mr Horner wrote: “Maybe our interactions over Lewis had stuck with him because later that year, during the Christmas break, Niki came to my house and asked me to join Mercedes as his team principal.

“I was caught off guard. Leaving Red Bull had never crossed my mind. When he then laid out a series of dazzling numbers, I realised he was discussing my potential salary.”

According to Mr Horner, Mr Lauda told him: “‘Red Bull will never pay you what Mercedes can,’ he said. ‘I respect you as a racer. I want you to come.

"Besides, Helmut is a miserable b******.’ I listened to his offer and shook my head.”

Mr Horner ultimately decided to remain with Red Bull, where Sebastian Vettel was enjoying a dominant spell and would secure his fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship in 2013.

Explaining his decision, Mr Horner said: “At that point, Sebastian was at the peak of his powers, and Red Bull were in the ascendancy.

“‘Niki, I’ve been winning World Championships with Red Bull,’ I said. ‘I’ve built everything from scratch. I feel a loyalty to Dietrich and the team. So as much as I appreciate this, I’m not going to join Mercedes.’”

Mercedes instead appointed Mr Wolff in January 2013, beginning a period which would see the team win eight consecutive constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ titles.