Red Bull would be "foolish" not to consider an approach for George Russell when his Mercedes contract expires next year, says team principal Christian Horner.

While three-time world champion Max Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, the poor form of team-mate Sergio Perez has cast doubt on their lineup.

Perez started 2024 with four podium finishes in his first five races, but he has since endured a run of 13 outings without a top-three finish to slip to eighth in the drivers' championship.

Russell is set to become Mercedes' lead driver for 2025 when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, but with the Silver Arrows' team principal Toto Wolff repeatedly talking up the possibility of moving for Verstappen, his long-term future is in doubt.

With Russell's contract expiring after next season, Horner says Red Bull could swoop for him to fill a "gap" between their current drivers and those coming through their academy.

"We've got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future," Horner told Sky Sports F1.

"And we're not afraid to go out of the pool. You know, George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.

"There are other talented drivers that could well be out of contract as well."

Russell claimed his second F1 race win in Austria earlier this year and currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings, 11 points ahead of Perez.

Horner's comments on Russell were put to Mercedes boss Wolff, who accused his counterpart of "stirring".

"He is always stirring s*** up on his part," Wolff said. "It's part of the game.

"George is a Mercedes driver, has been forever and hopefully will be forever. He has a long contract with the team."

The Silver Arrows endured a frustrating outing at last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton finishing fourth and Russell sixth after early difficulties with the team's split strategy. 

Red Bull chief Christian Horner has no expectations of Max Verstappen changing his aggressive tactics after the contentious collision with McLaren's Lando Norris.

The pair were battling for the lead at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix before crashing seven laps from the finish line.

Reigning Formula One champion Verstappen was deemed responsible and hit with a 10-second time penalty, though recovered to finish fifth as Norris was forced out of the race in a blow to his championship hopes.

That drama allowed Mercedes' George Russell to triumph but Horner does not expect Verstappen to hold back next time, even suggesting Norris must learn to adapt.

"I understand they've spoken already, I don't think there is any issue," Horner told Sky Sports News ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

"Certainly, from Max's side, he's not going to change. There's an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max and they're discovering that.

"Inevitably, there is going to be more close racing between the two of them as the cars look so close over the forthcoming races.

"Max is a hard racer – he's probably one of the hardest racers on the circuit and everybody knows that if you're going to race against Max, he's going to give as good as he gets."

Many pinpointed the blame at the hands of Verstappen, who has pushed the limits close in recent F1 seasons.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was among those to fiercely criticise the Dutchman, yet Horner believes the scrutiny is unjustified.

"He raced incredibly hard in 2021, he's a tough racer, and he hasn't really been racing anyone for two years because he's been out front so much," Horner said.

"The conflict between the two of them has been building over two, three, four races where they've been racing each other closely and hard, and at some point that was always going to spill over – and it did at Turn 3.

"He was punished in 2021 if he did something wrong just as Lewis [Hamilton], who he was racing so hard that year, was for things he did wrong.

"I think it's wrong and unfair to label a driver like that and I'm sure in the heat of the moment it was frustrating for Andrea, but that's just tough racing.

"He worked with Michael Schumacher [at Ferrari] for so many years – he of all people should know that."

Lando Norris has "emerged from the pack" to represent the main threat to Red Bull, says the team's principal Christian Horner. 

Alongside reigning champion Max Verstappen, Norris has finished in the top two positions at five of the last six races, including Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver has also finished in the top four in each of his last six races, as many times as in his previous 15. 

He has led for a career-high 58 laps this season and his next podium finish will see him match John Watson for 13th place in the charts for all British drivers, with 20.

Looking back on last week's race in Barcelona, Horner acknowledged Verstappen – who triumphed by 2.219 seconds – was fortunate to make a strong start count.

"If Lando had track position it would have been difficult to beat him," Horner told Sky Sports News.

"It was so close between the two of them and they were 18 seconds ahead of the rest. I would say Lando has emerged from the pack as the most consistent challenger.

"We've had four pole winners in the last four races. It's very, very tight.

"But Lando I would say, he seems to have worked out these tyres, McLaren have done a great job as well, and they're going to push us hard for the rest of the year."

Red Bull are on home turf this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, for the third sprint race weekend of the season.

"On such a short lap, it's going to be so tight and we expect McLaren and Lando to be fast again," Horner added.

"Ferrari and Mercedes? Who knows. If you look at the gap to those guys after the race it was pretty similar to last year. The one who has stepped up is Lando."

Christian Horner has left the door ajar for Daniel Ricciardo to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next season following the Mexican’s retirement at his home grand prix.

Perez’s race lasted just 14 seconds after he crashed into Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the opening bend.

The 33-year-old had to watch Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen romp to a record 16th win of the season, while Ricciardo – who has already stated his desire to return to Red Bull – out-performed his modest AlphaTauri machinery to finish seventh after qualifying fourth.

Although Horner said it is Red Bull’s “intention” to honour Perez’s contract for 2024, he refused to confirm that the Mexican would remain with the world champions beyond this term.

Perhaps tellingly, he was also effusive in his praise for Ricciardo, lauding the Australian’s display in just his fourth comeback race as “remarkable”. It is possible that the two drivers could trade seats in 2024.

“Sergio has an agreement with us for next year and our intention is for him to be in the car in 2024,” said Horner.

“We will give him all the support he needs to ensure he finishes second in the championship.

“It was great to see Daniel perform so well and it endorses our decision to bring him back. I thought he was outstanding this weekend and if it was not for the red flag, he would have finished further up the order.

“It was a remarkable performance and he is back to his old self. He is relaxed and confident.”

Perez went for glory at the opening corner – perhaps sensing this could be his final opportunity to win on home soil – but he misjudged the move and collided with Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton took second to reduce the deficit to Perez to just 20 points in the race for runner-up in the championship.

“There is no prerequisite that if he doesn’t finish second, he is out of the team,” added Horner. “It is not as binary as that. You have to look at the circumstances.

“It was a tough moment for him in front of his home crowd and he was very emotional, but he wouldn’t be a racing driver if he didn’t go for the lead at his home race. It is a big loss for him in a car that was capable of being on the podium.

“He is a tough operator and that is why he is in the car, because mentally he has always been able to bounce back. He will brush himself down and turn it into motivation. He has the full support of the team.”

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Ricciardo won seven times for Red Bull before taking the surprise decision to move to Renault in 2019. He subsequently joined McLaren, but endured two poor years.

Ricciardo’s career looked to be over when he was dumped by the British team at the end of last season. But the 34-year-old has performed admirably – despite being absent for five races with a broken wrist – since being handed a second chance with Red Bull’s junior team. Indeed, his seventh place in Mexico was AlphaTauri’s best result of the year.

Ricciardo will be back in action at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix – the first of three concluding rounds this season.