Christian Horner 'allowed' to make F1 return after striking Red Bull deal

Horner in de MotoGP: "Deze coureurs zijn krankzinnig in wat ze doen" — Photo: © IMAGO

Christian Horner

Christian Horner 'allowed' to make F1 return after striking Red Bull deal

Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull last year

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 28 April 2026 17:42

Former Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner would be able to make a return to the sport as early as next month, according to reports.

Horner was sacked as Red Bull team principal midway through last season, bringing to an end a 20-year spell which had yielded eight drivers' championships and six constructors' titles.

The Brit made way for Laurent Mekies, who is now attempting to rebuild the Red Bull squad following a multitude of departures over the past couple of seasons.

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Horner, on the other hand, has been looking for a way back in to F1, being linked with team ownership positions at Alpine and Haas as well as the team principal role at Aston Martin alongside former colleague Adrian Newey.

But despite it coming up to a year since he was axed from Red Bull, the Brit has not yet managed to seal another role in F1.

Now, reports from the Sunday Times suggest that he strictly speaking would be allowed to be in another role with a different team as early as the Canadian Grand Prix in May, in line with a period of gardening leave that he negotiated with Red Bull when leaving.

Horner is believed to have struck up an £80million deal with the team to end his contract early and walk away, with 10 months gardening leave meaning that he couldn't join up with another squad until May 2026. However, the report also states that he is not planning on a return to the F1 paddock any time soon.