Christian Horner’s F1 return hits ANOTHER stumbling block

Christian Horner

Christian Horner’s F1 return hits ANOTHER stumbling block

Christian Horner's comeback has hit a major barrier

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 9 August 2025 19:43

Another avenue for a F1 return has been denied for Christian Horner as speculation continues over a possible comeback.

Christian Horner’s 20-year stint as Red Bull team principal came to an end midway through the 2025 season, and theories about the next stage of his career have already run rampant.

One such theory was that Horner could take charge in some capacity at Alpine, alongside former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

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The 94-year-old spoke about Horner’s exit with Sky Sports’ Craig Slater at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he described the decision to sack him from the role of team principal as ‘ruthless’.

“It's how it was dealt with, I have made it known to our friends there that maybe it was a little bit ruthless, perhaps to do it in the way they did it, but they didn’t have much choice. They decided this is what they were going to do and that’s it, they had to get on and do it,” Ecclestone said.

When Ecclestone was asked by Slater if he could team up with Horner at Alpine, the 94-year-old put an end to the speculation, and said: “I think, there's more chance of Lewis [Hamilton] winning his eighth title, than that happening.”

Will Horner make a F1 comeback?

Slater further probed Ecclestone on Horner’s future, and asked if the former team principal would stage a return at all.

“I don’t know how and where, or whether he wants to,” Ecclestone answered.

“He probably doesn’t want to because the position that he really wanted at Red Bull was to own part of the team. Unless he puts the money up to buy a team, I can’t see it happening.”

While still installed in his role of team principal, Horner was linked to a Ferrari switch with the Scuderia emerging as a potential home for the 51-year-old post-Red Bull.

However, the team have recently announced a contract extension with their current boss Fred Vasseur, ruling out Ferrari in the next few years for Horner.

Ecclestone’s comments about an Alpine return has closed the door on another potential comeback for Horner, if at all.

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Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Christian Horner Alpine Bernie Ecclestone