Christian Horner F1 return takes new twist as official statement released

Christian Horner

Christian Horner F1 return takes new twist as official statement released

Renault have spoken in the Horner/Alpine saga

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 10 June 2026 11:55

There has been a fresh twist in the Christian Horner F1 return saga after a Renault chief spoke out about discussions with the axed Red Bull boss - or more accurately, the lack of them.

Horner has long been linked to a return to the sport with Alpine, given his need for some deal of ownership in his next Formula 1 venture. When it was then reported that Otro Capital intended to sell their 24 per cent stake in the team, all heads turned to Horner as a likely buyer.

A fresh stumbling block hindered a Horner return when it was revealed that Mercedes were interested in the stake, but the German manufacturer has since pulled out of any potential purchase, leaving the door once again open for Horner.

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Now, however, the Renault Group - who own the majority 76 per cent stake in Alpine - have thrown the proverbial spanner in the works and claimed there's been no discussions with Horner.

Renault: There were no discussions with Horner

Renault Group CEO Francois Provost has told the Press Association that they are assessing their options, and that: "There is no discussion today with Christian.

“We are assessing the options. I want the Renault Group to keep the control of our team, whoever could be the successor of Otro.

“I saw there are no further discussions [with Mercedes] now. I was not so satisfied to see that we are not progressing.

“But I would like to make two comments about this. The first one, is that this Otro issue doesn’t impact us at all as a team because we are in control.

“And the second point, is that we will keep the control of our Formula 1 team. Alpine is an independent team and we intend to keep control.”

F1 Christian Horner Alpine Renault