Red Bull paid 'millions' to stop Ferrari signing Christian Horner, says Marko

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was on the brink of joining Ferrari in a shocking move during the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, but Red Bull had to shell out "millions" to retain his services, according to Helmut Marko.

Marko, speaking to Blick, revealed that Ferrari had been long-time admirers of Horner, who has led Red Bull since they entered into Grand Prix racing in 2005, achieving an impressive record of 99 race wins and 11 World Championship titles.

Ferrari had also set their sights on poaching Red Bull's technical genius, Adrian Newey, as well as two senior members of the team. The near-successful attempt to acquire Horner occurred at last year's Montreal race.

Marko, Red Bull's advisor who holds much sway at the F1 team, recounted the intense negotiations, stating: "It took me a whole night to convince Horner to stay at Red Bull. It cost us millions more."

Despite Horner's decision to remain, key technical personnel have left or are set to leave Red Bull. Aston Martin appointed Dan Fallows as their technical director, while McLaren successfully lured engineering chief Rob Marshall, whose role will commence in 2024.

Furthermore, Ferrari's pursuit of Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache was rebuffed, as teams endeavour to secure Newey's top lieutenants in the absence of securing Newey himself.