Christian Horner Disputes Helmut Marko Over Recent Carlos Sainz Claim: “Pure Speculation”

Earlier this week, Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko claimed that Carlos Sainz has a mega-contract in hand from Audi. However, Team Principal Christian Horner snubs these claims. Horner insists that Red Bull doesn’t have any information about Audi offering Sainz any contract.

Marko also added that Red Bull won’t be able to match what Audi offered Sainz in terms of money. Responding to this, Horner said, (as per RacingNews 365),

“That is pure speculation. We have no idea if and what Audi has offered Carlos [Sainz].”

Per Horner, multiple offers from teams on the grid is natural for someone like Sainz. However, Red Bull is not aware of any such offer made to the Spaniard, which was Horner’s way of dismissing Marko’s earlier revelation. He also highlighted how one shouldn’t talk about rumored offers like this in public, even if it is true.

The 50-year-old said,

“It would be improper to disclose what offers are made. And it’s something that has not been disclosed to us, as to what offers have been made from other teams.”

Sainz is a driver of potential interest for Marko and Horner because of his links to Red Bull. He will leave Ferrari in 2025 and his stunning form has made him the hottest soon-to-be free agent on the F1 grid. Red Bull, however, isn’t in a hurry to sign any driver for 2025, or to even offer its existing star a new contract.

Christian Horner gives an honest update on Red Bull’s 2025 driver lineup

Max Verstappen’s future with Red Bull is secure for the near future. The same, however, cannot be said about his teammate, who is walking a fine line. Currently, Perez is performing well which points towards Horner and Co. offering the Mexican a contract extension. But it can all go south for Perez if he suffers a dip in form similar to 2023.

Horner (as quoted by Crash.net) spoke about Red Bull’s plans for its 2025 driver-line up ahead of the Chinese GP.

“Not very [close to announcing], I am afraid.  We’re in a situation where we’re very happy with our two drivers, but don’t need to make a decision until much later in the year.” 

Horner also disclosed that Red Bull is in a luxury position of evaluating its options. All drivers on the grid want to drive their dominant cars and with stars like Carlos Sainz available on the market, Red Bull isn’t short of good options.