Christian Horner F1 comeback has leadership backing, claims insider

Christian Horner

Christian Horner F1 comeback has leadership backing, claims insider

Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull last year

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 20 May 2026 10:57

Former Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner could have a way back into the sport, according to an F1 insider.

Horner was the team principal at Red Bull between 2005-2025, winning eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championships in that time.

But last year, the Brit was sacked from the Milton Keynes-based outfit for performance reasons, with the team sat fourth in the constructors' championship.

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Since then, Horner has been linked with several moves to other teams, but he is said to want more of a team ownership role as his next move, leaving Alpine and Haas as the two most likely rumours which have failed to go away.

But a move has not materialised for the Brit yet, and he has also been looking at other motorsport series, being invited by Liberty Media to watch MotoGP last month, with former Haas boss Guenther Steiner already a team owner in that series.

Now, Sky Sports F1 pundit Craig Slater has suggested that a return to F1 for the Brit is wanted by F1's key figures, but not by individual teams themselves, describing the situation as 'complicated'.

“I've spoken to Horner informally over the past few months and it's clear to me that while he's ready to come back, he has no interest in returning to the pit wall just for the sake of it,” Slater told Sky Sports F1.

“It would need to be the right kind of project. That would mean he'd more than likely require a stake-holding within a team that has the potential to win in F1 again.

“When will he be back? There's an enthusiasm for his return among stakeholders and leadership figures in F1, but the individual team situations are complicated.”

Red Bull's new era

Laurent Mekies joined Red Bull as team principal in July 2025, and the team got off to a good start under the Frenchman, with Max Verstappen in the end just two points off claiming a fifth championship title.

But amid the regulations overhaul that came into the sport in 2026 - and Red Bull's new era as a power unit manufacturer - things have gone downhill fast.

Red Bull's first ever full season without Horner currently sees them down in fourth in the constructors' championship, already 150 points behind leaders Mercedes.

Verstappen's best result so far in a grand prix this season is just fifth, and he is down in seventh in the standings.

While the team are not going to hire Horner back to sort out their form, there are a number of key positions that need filling at Red Bull after a number of departures in recent seasons, and David Croft recently suggested that the outfit 'need a big name signing'.

F1 Red Bull Christian Horner Formula E