Christian Horner’s old regret is back in the spotlight, and this time it comes with a bigger consequence. Fresh reports say Oscar Piastri is Red Bull’s top candidate to replace Max Verstappen if the four-time champion walks away.
The idea of Piastri as the fallback has gathered pace after Horner’s comments strengthened the belief that Red Bull still sees the Australian as a driver it let slip through its fingers. The reports say Verstappen could leave for a rival team or even take a sabbatical from Formula 1, leaving Red Bull to turn to the McLaren driver as its preferred option.
Horner first laid out Red Bull’s missed chance in 2022, when he said the team had the chance to look at Piastri and did not take it. He said the Australian drove for Arden in F4 and Formula Renault, added that he was “obviously a significant talent,” and called it a regret that Red Bull did not take up the option. Horner also said Piastri’s results in F3 and F2 were phenomenal.
That view has now been amplified by pundit Will Buxton, who said Red Bull “have had their eyes on Oscar Piastri for years.” Buxton said they wished they had signed him as a junior, should not have let him into the Alpine Academy, and should not have let McLaren get hold of him. He added that Red Bull know they “missed the bus” on Piastri and argued that he is one of the most impressive drivers in Formula 1 and probably the man they would want to lead the team.
The reports also say Red Bull’s leadership is prepared for that possibility even if it does not expect to use it. Laurent Mekies, the team principal, and Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull GmbH’s managing director, are said to be confident Verstappen will stay but are willing for the Piastri plan to move ahead if he does not. That matters because Red Bull is also weighing whether any younger alternative could carry the team through a major reset.
For now, Isack Hadjar is understood to be too inexperienced to fill a leader’s role, which pushes Red Bull toward a proven name rather than a development project. That is why Piastri, with experience at Arden and a run through Alpine and McLaren, sits so high on the list.
The tension in all of this is simple: Red Bull is talking as if it expects Verstappen to stay, while preparing as if it might not. That leaves Piastri in the most awkward place of all — publicly tied to McLaren, but increasingly described as the driver Red Bull would most like to have if its own future changes overnight.
