May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull team principle Christian Horner sits in the F1 Village before the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
(Reuters) - Red Bull boss Christian Horner has responded to claims staff were increasingly looking to leave his team by saying the Formula One champions have so far taken 220 from rivals Mercedes.
Dominant Red Bull have been unsettled by allegations against Horner of misconduct towards a female employee, which the boss has denied and been cleared of.
Star designer Adrian Newey has announced he is leaving next year and McLaren boss Zak Brown told reporters at the weekend's Miami Grand Prix that resumes were flying around and Newey was the first domino to fall.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who has been making overtures to Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton's seat to fill, said his team had "seen Red Bull CVs through all of the levels."
Horner told reporters after Sunday's race, with McLaren's Lando Norris taking his first win, that there would always be movement between teams.
"I don’t know how many people we’ve employed from McLaren this year or how many people VCARB (Red Bull's RB sister team) have employed (from) Mercedes," he added.
"We’ve taken 220 people, 220 out of HPP (Mercedes AMG's High Performance Powertrains) into Red Bull Powertrains, so when we’re talking of losing people, I’d be a bit more worried about the 220 than maybe one or two CVs."
Red Bull are building their own powertrain for 2026, when the sport undergoes a major engine rule change, with a major expansion at their Milton Keynes facility.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
