Horner says Red Bull blocked Alonso, Leclerc for 2025 seat
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 15, 2026
Horner and Alonso
Christian Horner said Red Bull blocked his attempts to sign Fernando Alonso for the vacant seat left by Sergio Perez. Horner said Alonso told him at the Japanese Grand Prix that he wanted to drive alongside Max Verstappen, but Horner said the resistance did not come from Verstappen. He said Helmut Marko stopped the move. Horner framed Alonso as a real option for the team, and he made clear that the push to bring him in came from his side, not from Verstappen. The account puts Alonso at the center of Red Bull’s search for a replacement, with Horner saying the team turned him away.
Horner and Leclerc
Horner said he then shifted to Charles Leclerc after the Alonso plan was rejected. He said Leclerc became his preferred choice because he was fast, consistent and a team player. Horner said Red Bull rejected that move too. The sequence left him looking for another direction and pushed the team toward Liam Lawson. Horner said he was never comfortable with Lawson’s promotion and later said it should not have happened. He said Lawson was too inexperienced, and Red Bull eventually demoted him after two races and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda. The moves showed how quickly Red Bull’s plans changed once the Alonso and Leclerc options closed off.
Lawson and Sainz
Horner also said the driver market kept moving around Red Bull even after Lawson’s short stint. He said Carlos Sainz visited him at home to discuss a possible Red Bull move shortly before Horner was removed from his post. That detail added another layer to a search that had already included Alonso, Leclerc and Lawson. Horner’s comments painted a picture of repeated attempts to reshuffle the lineup around Max Verstappen, with several alternatives falling away before they could take hold. In Horner’s telling, Red Bull blocked the moves he wanted, went with Lawson, then moved on again after two races.
