This is the man who can stop Christian Horner’s F1 return

Andreas Seidl has been tipped to be the new favourite to claim the role of team principal with Aston Martin F1 team, according to reports in Italian media.

Bombshell reports surfaced in the immediate aftermath of the Las Vegas Grand Prix that current Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell could be set to lose his job after just a year in charge, with BBC Sport announcing that former Red Bull boss Christian Horner was in the running to take the role.

These reports said that Cowell's potential departure would happen before the end of 2025, leaving the position vacant for the final two race weekends, with Aston Martin offering a statement to GPFans which read: "The team will not be engaging in rumour or speculation. The focus is on maximising performance in the remaining races and preparing for 2026."

Now, Motorsport.com.it have said that the favourite to replace Cowell is not Horner, but former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl.

Seidl was previously the CEO of Audi's F1 operations ahead of their takeover of the Sauber team, but he was replaced in July 2024 by former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, meaning he would be free to step into a new role should one become available.

Horner is currently on gardening leave having been axed by Red Bull after 20 years at the team following the British GP, and would not be available to take on a new role until next year, handing Seidl the hypothetical upper hand.

Where will Horner end up?

There's no doubt that Horner is keen for a return to F1 in some form, and these Aston Martin reports seemingly came out of the blue following last weekend's Las Vegas GP.

However, the move would see him reunite with design legend Adrian Newey, who joined Aston Martin back in March, but the pair are alleged to have had a falling out during Newey's later years at Red Bull.

Horner has been linked with plenty of other teams since leaving the F1 grid, with Ferrari and Alpine rumours failing to go away despite the fact Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur recently signed a new contract.

On top of this, current Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu revealed that an initial phone call had taken place with Horner, with the Brit seemingly wanting a role that includes some kind of team ownership perk.

But the 52-year-old has so far failed to secure a return to the sport, and though recent reports linking him to Aston Martin have thrown his name into the mix again, Seidl would surely be the more sensible option to replace Cowell should the team principal role need filling anytime soon.

READ MORE: Aston Martin issue emotional statement as star officially exits team

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