Christian Horner was offered Mercedes team principal job in major revelation

Christian Horner has described how he was offered, and rejected, the offer to become Mercedes F1 team principal in a major revelation. 

Horner, in his new memoir, Drive, says that around Christmas 2012, then-Mercedes non-executive director Niki Lauda offered him the position of Mercedes F1 boss to try to poach him away from Red Bull. 

The offer had come after Horner had held discussions with Lewis Hamilton, who was seeking to leave McLaren, but ultimately decided against pairing him with incumbent three-time champion Sebastian Vettel - and guided Lauda towards Hamilton, with that deal being announced in September 2012.

Horner describes being "caught off guard" as Lauda visited his home as the three-time champion "laid out a series of dazzling numbers" - which Horner realised would be his salary, with the sales pitch of "Red Bull will never pay you what Mercedes can."

After considering the offer and hearing Lauda out, Horner then describes flatly rejecting the offer to the Austrian. 

"I feel a loyalty to Dietrich [Mateschitz] and the team, so as much as I appreciate this, I am not going to join Mercedes," Horner replied.

At the time, Horner had just guided Red Bull and Vettel to their third consecutive constructors' and drivers' championship double, with the pair winning for a fourth year on the trot in 2013.

Ultimately, Mercedes would sign another Austrian, a former racing driver-turned businessman for 2013 by the name of Toto Wolff, who would serve under Ross Brawn for 2013 before he and Paddy Lowe split the usual functions of a team principal the next year.

Whilst Wolff looked after all political and commercial matters, Lowe was left to concentrate on technical matters, with the duo guiding Mercedes to the first three of its seven consecutive championship doubles from 2014 before Lowe left ahead of 2017 and Wolff took up the more traditional team principal role by himself.