Christian Horner to Ferrari: The major change John Elkann must make

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Christian Horner to Ferrari could fix nothing unless John Elkann makes one major change

Would Horner be given the power to rule effectively at Maranello?

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 5 October 2026 20:45

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When Mark Hughes speaks about Formula 1, it is always worth listening.

Few journalists understand the inner workings of an F1 team quite like Hughes, who has spent decades analysing the sport at the highest level and established himself as one of its most authoritative voices.

So when Hughes looks at Ferrari, Christian Horner and the tantalising possibility of the former Red Bull boss one day arriving at Maranello, of course he asks THE crucial question.

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Not whether Horner could fix Ferrari, but whether Ferrari would actually let him.

Writing in his latest column for MotorSport magazine, Hughes has taken a fascinating look at Horner's potential suitability for the biggest job in F1 and, more importantly, what would have to change at Ferrari for such an appointment to succeed.

The 52-year-old Horner - out of the sport since his firing by Red Bull in July 2025 - spoke recently about his admiration for Ferrari, describing working for the iconic Italian outfit as "the dream".

Whether that dream ever becomes reality remains to be seen, particularly with Fred Vasseur still currently in charge of the Scuderia. To this point the Italian team have been steadfast in their party line that they are behind the embattled Vasseur and no changes will be made.

The analysis from Hughes, as ever, goes beyond the usual speculation over who might occupy the team principal's office at Maranello from 2027 on.

Instead, he identifies perfectly the fundamental issue Ferrari need to solve if they are ever going to return to the sustained success that has eluded them for so long. It is now 19 years since they crowned a world drivers' champion and 18 since they topped the constructors' standings.

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F1 expert Mark Hughes asks crucial Ferrari question

Ferrari have not exactly been short of team principals since their last truly dominant period in F1, and the cycle of hiring and firing is eerily similar every time.

Since 2014, Marco Mattiacci, Maurizio Arrivabene and Mattia Binotto have all occupied the role, with Vasseur now the latest man tasked with returning the Scuderia to championship glory.

Changing the man at the top has not changed the outcome, leaving Hughes to question whether the structure surrounding the team principal is the bigger problem.

Horner enjoyed extraordinary success at Red Bull over a period of two decades, overseeing an operation which became one of the dominant forces of modern F1.

But transplanting the same individual into Ferrari would not automatically produce the same results.

For that to happen, Hughes believes Horner would need the kind of autonomy once afforded to Jean Todt and Ross Brawn during Ferrari's Michael Schumacher glory years in the red car.

"The only way this would work would be the level of control given to Jean Todt/Ross Brawn by Luca di Montezemolo," he writes.

"Effectively, he would be saying: ‘Give me a cast iron five-year contract, a cast-iron five-year budget - and leave me alone for the next five years, regardless of what happens on track.

"‘I don’t even want to hear from you for the next five years, other than in a Christmas card. I do all the hiring and firing; I structure everything the way I want.

"‘Go back to your office and attend to all the business stuff and leave me alone. You and whoever might succeed you. All written out contractually.’"

As Hughes points out, there are two questions for Ferrari to consider here - firstly do they want to hire Horner? And more importantly will they give him the autonomy needed to deliver sustained success?

Would Elkann and Ferrari give Horner true power?

When Ferrari were great, how did things work?

The comparison here with the Schumacher era is particularly significant, it is one which is referenced almost daily when Ferrari are a hot topic. But it is also highly relevant given the political machinations inside Maranello.

Ferrari's extraordinary run of success at the beginning of this century was not simply the product of having one superstar driver or one brilliant technical mind - the Scuderia built a formidable structure.

Todt, Brawn, Rory Byrne and Schumacher formed the spine of an operation which was given the time and authority required to turn Ferrari into a winning machine. Schumacher did not claim his first world title in red until his fifth season at Maranello.

Schumacher and Todt were part of a formidable Ferrari structure.

The eventual results were extraordinary, bringing six consecutive constructors' titles between 1999 and 2004 and Schumacher claiming five consecutive drivers' championships from 2000 to 2004.

Hughes' argument raises the possibility that Ferrari have spent much of the period since then looking for another great leader without necessarily recreating the conditions which allowed their previous great leaders to succeed.

So if John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna are merely considering who their next team principal should be, they are looking for an answer to the wrong question.

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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