Christian Horner has been fired by Red Bull after 20 years as Team Principal.
In his 20 years in charge of Red Bull, he acted as their only ever Team Principal since their founding in 2005. He won six Constructors’ and eight Drivers’ championships during that time.
Horner is one of the most successful team bosses in Formula One history and will have no shortage of suitors from the other teams on the grid. Here, we break down his likely landing spots.
Alpine
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Alpine have been a team in crisis, and free-falling for a number of years. They now sit at the bottom of the Constructors’ standings, and crucially without a Team Principal following the departure of Oliver Oakes earlier in the year.
Stand-in Team Principal, and the man believed to be pulling the strings at Alpine, Flavio Briatore, has a long-standing relationship with Horner dating back 20 years. After Red Bull fired Horner, Briatore referred to Horner as “a friend off track” on Instagram.
Alpine are in dire need of somebody like Horner to take control of the operation, steering the team with a solid long-term vision. But would Horner want to take on the project of what is currently the slowest car on the grid?
Aston Martin
Aston Martin, with their billionaire backing of Laurence Stroll, have underachieved against their own expectations in the last few seasons.
They appeared to be trending in a positive direction at the start of 2023 with a string of Fernando Alonso podiums, but they have fallen back into the midfield since then, much to the frustration of the entire team.
All eyes are on the Silverstone-based team for 2026, however, since the arrival of genius aerodynamicist Adrian Newey from Red Bull. Horner and Newey worked closely to create some of the greatest cars ever created, and would make for a formidable pairing at Aston Martin.
With Horner and Newey reunited, and an all-time F1 great in Alonso driving the car, you could expect Aston Martin to shoot up the running order quickly in the coming seasons.
Ferrari
Horner has been linked with Ferrari for a number of years. They attempted to bring Horner in following the departure of Mattia Binotto, but Horner declined. Now he is out of work, would the Brit consider a move to Italy?
A move to Ferrari represents the biggest cultural shift in the sport. They are one of two teams located outside of the UK, the other being Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s sister team that are not so disengaged from Britain by nature.
With Ferrari, Horner would immediately be in the fight for championships, and returning F1’s most successful team to glory would cement him in the sport’s folklore. But to do it, Horner would have to uproot his life.
And are Ferrari still interested? Lewis Hamilton has a history with Horner, which turned particularly sour in 2021. Would they risk upsetting one of F1’s greatest ever drivers?
A move to Ferrari would make for a whirlwind of headlines, and anything is possible in this sport, but there is a chance the ship has sailed on this opportunity.