Horner stunned by 'billion-dollar bid' for Verstappen

Christian Horner has reacted to the report that a rival F1 team is looking to poach Max Verstappen from Red Bull.

Last month, it alleged that Aston Martin was putting together a plan that would see Verstappen offered one billion dollars across five years to race for the team.

Aston Martin refuted the claim and highlighted Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were contracted to race for the squad both this year and next.

The report came as Adrian Newey, the mastermind behind all of Verstappen's title-winning cars at Red Bull, prepares to start his new role at Aston Martin in two weeks' time.

Horner has asserted Verstappen is happy in his current environment as he enters the 2025 campaign looking to bag a fifth consecutive title.

“Look, I know you guys have all got columns to fill over a winter period," Horner told RacingNews365. 

"But a billion dollars - it would be an eye-wateringly large amount of money.

"But I think Max is very happy in the environment that he's in. He's grown up in the team.

“He has a great relationship with the team and the engineers and the technicians and everybody that he works with.

"It's down to us to provide a competitive car and continue to give him the platform to be able to achieve the results that he has over the last almost 10 years.”

When asked if he thought it was realistic for a team to raise such funds, Horner responded: “I can't comment on other teams' finances.

“But Red Bull are in a relatively well position, I would think, compared to others within the pit lane."

Verstappen is currently under contract at Red Bull until 2028 but has been linked with an early exit on various occasions across the last 12 months.