Latest F1 News

Where is Christian Horner? Australian Grand Prix goes ahead without former F1 Red Bull boss

The axed Red Bull F1 boss is nowhere to be seen in Melbourne this week

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 6 March 2026 15:57

If you are tuning in to this weekend's F1 Australian Grand Prix, then you may be surprised to find that the Red Bull garage will be without their former boss of 20 years, Christian Horner.

Shockwaves were sent through the F1 paddock last summer when Red Bull announced the abrupt sacking of Horner, who had been the only team principal to lead the energy drink giants as they began their unlikely journey up the ranks of the pinnacle of motorsport.

The Englishman became the youngest team principal in the history of the sport when he was established as the man to sit at the helm of the squad who had just bought Jaguar. But in July 2025, Red Bull opted for a change in leadership for the first time since their maiden season in 2005, promoting former Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies to replace Horner.

Article continues under video

Horner played a huge part in transforming Red Bull into a title-winning constructor and even contributed massively to the team's new power unit partnership with Ford.

And even though 2026 will mark the first championship where Red Bull are powered by their first in-house power unit project, Horner will not be present in the garage of his former team at all this season.

Why was Christian Horner sacked?

During his final 18 months as Red Bull team principal, Horner was embroiled in a considerable amount of drama off the track.

This included an accusation of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of staff that Horner denied and was later cleared of following an internal investigation.

On top of this, the strained relationship between Max Verstappen's F1 boss and his father Jos Verstappen was reported as being the most difficult it had ever been last year, although Horner cleared up in the latest season of Drive to Survive that he felt the Verstappens were not the reason for his axing.

"His father has never been my biggest fan," Horner told the Netflix cameras.

"He’s been outspoken about me. But I don’t believe the Verstappens were responsible in any way."

So why was Horner sacked? Well, why not hear it from the man himself who told DtS: "I think this was a decision made by Oliver Mintzlaff with Helmut Marko advising from the sideline."

Marko, Red Bull's motorsport advisor, also left Red Bull following the conclusion of the F1 2025 campaign.

What is Christian Horner doing now?

Having spent the best part of eight months on the sidelines, Horner had plotted a public return, at the home of the first race of 2026, Melbourne.

The ex-Red Bull boss was expected in Australia on the eve of the 2026 championship to embark on a tour, titled: 'A Special Evening with Christian Horner: Life in Formula 1 and Beyond'.

The 52-year-old's return was scheduled to kick off in Melbourne on February 24 before heading around Australia with following dates set for Sydney (February 26) and Perth (March 2), prior to this weekend's season opener.

But this tour was delayed and postponed until the summer of 2026, with the reason for the change cited as a 'scheduling clash'.

According to ticket suppliers, the Brit's tour now seems to be on course to kick off in Sydney on August 1, followed by Melbourne (August 2) and Perth (August 4).

Is Christian Horner coming back to F1?

After adopting a low profile following his mid-season sacking last year, Horner's name finally hit the headlines once again in 2026 as rumours began to swirl about a potential way in for a comeback with Alpine F1 team.

In January, Alpine confirmed the whispers that Horner and his consortium of investors were among a number of interested parties who were considering buying a 24 per cent stake in the Enstone-based squad.

The stake held by US-based investment firm Otro Capital is the same equity stake that involves Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

But the former Red Bull boss is likely to be carrying out gardening leave until at least the spring of 2026 in order to avoid him taking any trade secrets to a rival team.

Initially, Horner did not comment publicly on the matter of a potential return to F1 with Alpine, but when asked about the reports during a recent appearance on 9 News Australia's Today show, he gave a response that revealed where his head was at over whether a comeback to the sport would be worth it.

"Look, so far, I've been going to pretty much every team on the grid, and I've spoken very little publicly since I left Red Bull," he said.

"So it's flattering that there's often this speculation that I'm going to this team or that team, but that's rife in Formula 1. I'd only come back for the right opportunity working with the right people that are like minded and want to win. I've got no interest in just taking part.

"I've done my shift, I think. And for me, if I were to come back, it would be in a slightly different role to the one that I performed the last 21 years or so, we'll see.

"I mean, the interest in the sport is sky high. There's some fantastic people that want to invest in Formula 1. And, yeah, but I'm in no rush, and if my career stops at the end of my time at Red Bull, I've had an incredible run, and, as I said, only come back to something that was genuinely exciting and and something that could ultimately win."

When is the F1 2026 Australian Grand Prix?

Following three practice sessions and the first qualifying of the F1 2026 championship, all 11 teams will be back in action on Sunday for the first race of the year, the Australian Grand Prix.

The 58-lap race at Albert Park Circuit will take place on Sunday, March 8, at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here she realised her background in journalism and love of motorsport could be combined, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work more closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan which she hopes to build on.

View full biography

Christian Horner Australian Grand Prix Melbourne Albert Park Circuit