Christian Horner's one-word response to which McLaren driver he would have at Red Bull
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said he would pick Oscar Piastri over Lando Norris between the two McLaren drivers for the Austrian team. The Aussie driver has impressed everyone with his race pace and calm demeanor on the track despite racing in the most intense situations.
The 23-year-old made his debut on the grid at the start of the 2023 season when he replaced fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo at the Woking-based outfit after a controversial move away from Alpine.
In his two full seasons at the pinnacle of motorsport, Piastri has been on par with his more established teammate Norris as was evidenced during the large parts of the 2024 season.
During episode 6 of season 7 of the Netflix series Drive to Survive, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was asked to pick between the two McLaren drivers for his team; the Brit gave a surprising one-word response ahead of the Italian GP and said:
"Oscar." (16:55)
Piastri, who is managed by former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, was part of the Alpine Driver Academy and is one of only four drivers to win F3 and F2 championships in their rookie seasons.
When Christian Horner spoke about his regret of not signing Oscar Piastri
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner previously stated that he regretted not signing Oscar Piastri in the team's junior academy when he had the chance.
In his appearance on Beyond the Grid podcast in 2022, the 51-year-old reflected on the young Aussie driver and said:
“There was an opportunity for Red Bull to look at him at the time and we didn’t take up that option, which is something that I regret. What he went on to achieve is phenomenal, in Formula 3 and Formula 2."
He also commented on the saga between McLaren and Alpine to get his signature for the 2023 season, adding:
"Now, if he’d have been a driver here, there is no way that he wouldn’t have been under lock and key for a period in time. I wasn’t party [to the situation], it’s difficult to judge what was promised or reneged on and so on, but it certainly was unexpected – probably from several areas.”
“[Piastri is] a great driver. The only problem he now has to deal with is [that] the expectation on him will be immense. He’s going to have to get in and deliver against Lando, which is no mean feat. But you either sink or swim in this business. He’s a very, very capable driver, [so] I’m sure he’s going to do very well.”
Christian Horner has given opportunities to drivers like Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel at the Milton Keynes-based outfit given all of them were products of the team's academy.