Christian Horner: What is former Red Bull chief's most likely route back to F1 with imminent return now possible?
Christian Horner is free to work in Formula 1 again following his departure from Red Bull in July 2025; the Brit appears to be exploring multiple paths to returning to the paddock; Horner is part of a group interested in acquiring a stake in Alpine
Monday 18 May 2026 15:35, UK
Approaching a year on from his shock Red Bull sacking, Christian Horner is free to return to Formula 1, but what is the Brit's most likely route back to the pit wall?
Horner was relieved of his dual roles as Red Bull team principal and chief executive following the British Grand Prix in July 2025, ending a hugely successful 20-year stint running the Milton Keynes squad.
The 52-year-old oversaw two periods of Red Bull dominance in F1, with Sebastian Vettel and the team winning four consecutive drivers' and constructors' championships from 2010-2013 and Max Verstappen winning four drivers' championships from 2021-2024, along with constructors' titles in 2022 and 2023.
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Horner received a huge pay-out, understood to be in the region of £75m, but actually chose to take less money than was potentially available in order to agree a shorter period of time before he would be allowed to return to the sport with another team.
With that period now complete, Horner appears to be ramping up his presence in the motorsport world as he seeks a new opportunity, appearing at Moto GP and Formula E events over the last couple of weeks.
Ahead of the F1 season resuming with the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, Sky Sports assess the possible options that could become available to Horner.
Can Horner overcome Mercedes in contest for Alpine stake?
While Horner has only just become free to return to F1, he was still able to explore possible routes back to the paddock during his time away.
His activity in this regard was confirmed back in January when Alpine confirmed that an investment group including Horner had expressed interest in buying the 24 per cent stake in the team owned by US-based investment firm Otro Capital.
A significant ownership stake has the potential to give Horner more power than he had at Red Bull, and therefore not leave him vulnerable to being ousted in the manner he was.
However, there was a twist to the Alpine saga in March when it was confirmed that Mercedes, led by Horner's former pit-lane rival Toto Wolff, were also interested in acquiring the stake in Alpine.
Somewhat ironically, the most significant help for Horner's quest to acquire a stake of Alpine has been coming from his other former rival, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown.
The American is strongly against the concept of A and B teams in F1 and wants to avoid the potential for Alpine to become Mercedes' junior squad. That's despite Mercedes insisting that any Alpine share purchase would amount only a to minority financial interest held by the business entity that operates their own F1 team.
The irony of the situation is furthered by the fact that Brown is continuing a crusade he has been leading for the last few years against Red Bull owning two teams - the Red Bull Racing team Horner was in charge of and Racing Bulls.
Having spoken out against a possible Mercedes-Alpine deal in April, Brown went one step further last week as he wrote a six-page letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem outlining his concerns over team alliances compromising the integrity of the sport.
If Brown is successful in convincing the sport's governing body to stop Mercedes buying a stake in Alpine, Horner's chances of making a swift return with an established team would be greatly enhanced.
BYD to provide 12th team option?
Another path back to the paddock for Horner appeared to materialise over the weekend as he held talks with Chinese car manufacturer BYD.
The Chinese brand are understood to hold an interest in becoming the 12th team on the F1 grid following the addition of Cadillac for the 2026 season.
BYD vice president Stella Li recently said the company held talks with F1 president Stefano Domenicali when the sport was in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix in March.
It was therefore notable that Horner was spotted at a BYD event in Cannes over the weekend, where he was photographed alongside Li and was also said to have met the company's chief executive Wang Chuanfu.
Setting up a brand-new team would be a vastly different challenge to taking over the already established - and midfield-leading - Alpine.
If Horner wants a quick return then this is unlikely to be it, with Cadillac's early 2026 struggles highlighting the challenge of entering a brand new team to the sport.
But such a project could play into what Horner himself sees as his key strengths. The immediate success of Red Bull powertrains is another reminder of his abilities to put together a successful "start up" operation, and at 52 he's still got time to take on another long term project not too dissimilar from his beginnings at Red Bull.
Could Ferrari links resurface?
It's clear that Horner would favour a situation where he has equity and more power within the structure of a team, but what if that doesn't materialise?
Horner could still be tempted back into F1 by a standard team principal role, but there are surely only a select few teams that would interest him.
Mercedes and McLaren seem to be non-starters for Horner, but there are some other teams who could be interested in his services.
He has long been linked with Ferrari, and the opportunity to end the Italian team's title drought would undoubtedly appeal to Horner. But Fred Vasseur remains at the helm and there's no certainty Horner would be the top candidate to replace him.
Aston Martin seemed a viable option for a while but a reuniting of Horner with his former Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey seems unlikely, so it would seem only the legendary designer giving up on the project would create an opening.
There appear to be few other realistic possibilities on the current grid, but any underperforming outfit would surely be tempted by a leader with Horner's track record.
Horner's presence at Moto GP and Formula E events has also led to speculation he could get involved with another motorsport category, but there is little doubt the Brit retains a desire to address what he considers to be unfinished business in F1.
'Guardiola's F1 equivalent' - but why can't Horner walk into another job?
Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater's provides analysis on Horner's current situation:
I've spoken to Horner informally over the past few months and it's clear to me that while he's ready to come back, he has no interest in returning to the pit wall just for the sake of it.
It would need to be the right kind of project. That would mean he'd more than likely require a stake-holding within a team that has the potential to win in F1 again.
When will he be back? There's an enthusiasm for his return among stakeholders and leadership figures in F1, but the individual team situations are complicated.
If Pep Guardiola were on football's managerial market he'd walk into another top job almost straight away. Horner is F1's equivalent, given his record, but there are fewer openings and then there are the inter-personal politics to consider.
Let's see how the Alpine situation develops - it's the likeliest way for him to make a quick return and Zak Brown's recent interventions on ownership might have a bearing on how that all plays out.
Beyond that, it's still early in the year. If a team has a significant performance deficit or isn't making the progress hoped for, will their ownership inevitably look to Horner?
Formula 1 heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
