Kevin De Bruyne can land himself a drive in a Red Bull Formula 1 car – if he leaves Manchester City for Championship bottom-dwellers Coventry City.
That was the price named by team boss Christian Horner as the footballer visited the paddock at the Belgian Grand Prix. The midfielder was a guest of the Red Bull team and was spotted chatting with key figures across the weekend.
That included conversations with both drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. De Bruyne was given a signed Red Bull top to mark the occasion, and responded in kind with a Man City shirt which had a personal message for F1 champion Verstappen.
"I know Max a little bit, we speak from time to time," the football star said when asked by Sky Sports' Martin Brundle on his pre-race grid walk. "It's nice for me to come home to Belgium to support Max and the team and hopefully they can have a good race."
Team principal Horner was also seen chatting with de Bruyne, and was later asked by Brundle if the team would consider letting him have a go behind the wheel of one of their cars. The response was: "Only if he plays for Coventry City!"
Horner's beloved Sky Blues could do with a player of de Bruyne's quality, having taken just one point from their opening four Championship games this season. His current employers are having no such struggles, and are second in the Premier League, unbeaten in their first five.
And Red Bull's fortunes in 2022 are more similar to the latter, as they are flying high at the top of both leaderboards. Verstappen is closing in on a successful title defence, 93 points clear of his nearest competitor, team-mate Perez.
And they look likely to be the ones to finally break Mercedes' grip on the constructors' championship. Red Bull have a 118-point cushion to second-placed Ferrari, while the Silver Arrows are even further behind amid their car struggles this season.
Things are expected to only get better for Red Bull this weekend. They are favourites once again for victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, with Verstappen set to be cheered on by an army of adoring home supporters at Zandvoort.
