F1 insider reveals seven things Christian Horner was right about including brutal Newey take

Christian Horner may no longer be a huge physical presence in the F1 paddock (at least for now) but his influence still looms large in the sport.

Horner has been on the sidelines since being axed as team principal by Red Bull last summer - ending a glorious two-decade run at the helm in Milton Keynes.

The 52-year-old Englishman is now free to return to the sport should he find a suitable opening, with buying a stake in Alpine or taking a high-ranking role at Aston Martin mooted as possible routes back in.

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Christian Horner is an F1 Nostradamus

Horner remains a major talking point within the sport, and this weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal he was hailed as an F1 Nostradamus of sorts for his uncannily accurate predictions.

The praise came from Sky Sports F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz, who reeled off a host of Horner predictions, and why most if not all of them appear to be right on the money.

During his Qualifying Notebook on Saturday night, Kravitz told his audience: “Things that Christian Horner was proved right about. There were seven things, I might as well share them with you now.

“One, these [F1] rules earlier on, he was somewhat of a canary in the coal mine about the rules and how the 200 kilowatt and 300 kilowatt and super clipping and megajoules, and all that needed looked at before the start of the year. So, Horner was right about that.

“Secondly, he was right that Red Bull powertrains and Ford would be good. Thirdly, if you give Max [Verstappen] a good car, he'll stay. Well, we'll see if that turns out to be true. Fourthly, Arvid Lindblad is ready and good enough now.

“Fifth, Honda would struggle this year, true, sixth - Adrian Newey, as a team principal, needs a controlling figure to help him. That turned out to be absolutely true. And seventh, Helmut Marko.”

When will Horner return to F1?

It appears unlikely that Horner will return to the paddock before 2027 although he has seen out the gardening leave which was part of his massive Red Bull settlement.

As stated Alpine and Aston Martin appear the likeliest landing spots, though Ferrari have also been mentioned as potential suitors. The speculation even led the Scuderia to hand current team principal Fred Vasseur a contract extension.

Horner could also return to F1 as part of a new 12th team, with speculation recently linking him with Chinese giant BYD as it looks to enter the paddock.

There is of course the possibility that Horner may not return to F1 at all - he has recently been spotted in the paddock at MotoGP and Formula E events and a rival series remains a possible route back into motorsport.

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