Christian Horner’s upcoming autobiography, Drive, is already causing massive shockwaves ahead of its 22 October release. The former Red Bull Racing team principal, who departed the Milton Keynes squad in 2025, used his book to drop several bombshells about his time at the top of Formula 1.
One of Christian Horner’s most controversial claims centres around the signing of four-time World Champion Max Verstappen. According to Horner, former Red Bull Motorsport advisor Marko did not want a young Verstappen in the team at all, alleging that Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, had to play a decisive role to make the deal happen.
But Marko isn’t letting that narrative stand.
“An absolute lie”
Speaking with the Austrian outlet oe24, Marko brushed off Horner’s version of history.
“I’m ignoring it as much as possible,” Marko said. However, he quickly pointed to former Formula 1 driver and current Sky Sports expert Ralf Schumacher, who vehemently defended him. “Ralf Schumacher handled it very well.”
Ralf Schumacher recently slammed Christian Horner’s book, aggressively describing Christian Horner’s account of the Max Verstappen signing as “an absolute lie.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty Images
Schumacher recalled his version of events, explaining: “Marko approached Max when he was just 11 and a half years old. At the time, Jos said it was still too early for him. The doctor, as you know him, was a bit miffed and said: ‘Okay, if you don’t want to, then so be it.'”
Marko confirmed Schumacher’s defence, expressing that the timing simply wasn’t right during those early karting days.
“It worked out well the way it did. Max was successful in karting back then, and we had no idea about that. Later in Formula 3, we would have grown closer again, and that’s how this unprecedented success story came about,” Marko explained.
Beating Horner in Barcelona
The bad blood between Horner and Marko has been well-documented, especially after the power struggle following Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz’s death, which eventually culminated in Horner’s exit.
In a final brutal counter-punch to Horner’s claim, Marko insisted that it was actually Horner who tried to block Verstappen’s historic promotion to the senior Red Bull squad in 2016.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“I brought Max into Formula 1 and had to beat Horner in his first race for Red Bull in Barcelona,” Helmut Marko recalled, referencing Max Verstappen’s legendary debut victory at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. “He thought Max was too young, too inexperienced…”
With Horner’s book Drive set to hit shelves in late October, this bitter war of words over who truly discovered the championship’s most dominant modern driver is likely just getting started.
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