Christian Horner has held ‘informal chats’ with £12m-a-year F1 driver over Red Bull seat in case Max Verstappen leaves

Christian Horner will be hoping that he never has to think about a Red Bull driver line-up that doesn’t contain Max Verstappen.

It was an ominous sign that Max Verstappen won his first race driving for Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix back in 2016.

He set the record that day for the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula 1 race, something that Mercedes star Andrea Kimi Antonelli was unable to break during his first few Grand Prix this season.

Verstappen is now a four-time world champion and searching for his fifth consecutive title this year.

However, things aren’t going as well as he would like, despite already having a race win under his belt and being just 12 points behind current drivers’ championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen hasn’t been happy with Red Bull’s decision making this year, believing the decision to swap Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda was taken too hastily and ignored the underlying problems with the RB21.

Tsunoda’s inability to close the gap to Verstappen since his introduction highlights how average the car is, and the individual talent required from the Dutchman to put himself in contention for this season’s championship.

Christian Horner is therefore beginning to explore his options, in case Verstappen is able to trigger a release clause in his contract to depart at the end of the year.

It seems that another in-form driver, George Russell, has caught his attention after the first five race weekends.

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Christian Horner has held ‘informal chats’ with George Russell over potential Red Bull F1 seat

A report from The Race has shared more details about the potential changes that could happen in the driver’s market ahead of next season.

Russell, who is on a £12m-a-year contract, rising to £18m, is the highest profile driver coming to the end of his current deal at the conclusion of this campaign.

No timetable currently exists between Russell and team principal Toto Wolff to sign a new contract, although his performances are more than deserving of an extension.

The problem Russell faces is that Wolff is a keen admirer of Verstappen, and it he becomes available, then his position at Mercedes is suddenly under threat.

As Verstappen get-out clause at Red Bull could activate during the summer break, Mercedes don’t want to rush into offering Russell a new deal and potentially miss out on the four-time world champion.

The report from The Race suggests that Russell and Horner ‘have had some informal chats’ in recent weeks, to make each other aware of their current situations.

However, nothing has advanced beyond this point, with talks over a race deal and a potential contract not currently on the horizon.

The report goes on to say that some doubt will remain over Wolff’s commitment to Russell while the prospect of Verstappen potentially becoming available exists.

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What has Christian Horner previously said about George Russell amid informal Red Bull talks?

It’s safe to say that Horner and Russell have interacted more in the past 12 months than during the rest of the Mercedes driver’s F1 career.

When Verstappen was first linked to Mercedes last year, Horner suggested he was interested in signing Russell as his potential replacement.

This was initially seen as a dig at Wolff and his public comments on Verstappen which didn’t go down well in either camp.

Their relationship then got rather more frosty after the Qatar Grand Prix weekend last year.

Verstappen and Russell ended up in a feud over what was allegedly said after qualifying when the Dutchman was handed a penalty.

Wolff accused Horner of crossing the line during the ordeal, and their relationship is unlikely to improve if they end up signing each other’s star drivers ahead of next year.