£3.8bn F1 team now sense ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to hire Christian Horner after Red Bull sacking

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull sacked Christian Horner from his role as their Formula 1 team principal and CEO this Wednesday, but the Briton may not have long to wait to return to a pit wall.

The 51-year-old spent the last 20 years in Milton Keynes as Red Bull made hiring Horner one of their first points of business upon buying the ailing Jaguar crew from Ford back in 2004. It would be a wise move, with Horner delivering six constructors’ titles and eight drivers’ titles.

Yet the cracks have been growing for the last 18 months, and ultimately broke beyond repair this week. Red Bull sacked Horner without telling him why this Tuesday night, with the news then shared on Wednesday that he has been replaced by Racing Bulls chief Laurent Mekies.

Horner will remain employed by Red Bull through the remainder of the 2025 F1 season, but he will no longer have operational control of the team as Mekies moves across from Racing Bulls. The Briton being sidelined could also trigger movement in the market by other teams.

Ferrari see a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to hire Christian Horner after Red Bull sacked him

Horner flirted with Flavio Briatore about taking over Alpine before Red Bull even sacked the native of Leamington Spa. He realised long before the axe fell that his time could be coming to an end in Milton Keynes, with Red Bull last amongst F1’s big four teams in the 2025 table.

READ MORE: All to know on sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth

But Formula1.it reports that Ferrari feel they now have a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity to hire Horner after he was sacked by Red Bull. The Briton’s shock availability has also seen the Scuderia’s interest in appointing Horner to replace Fred Vasseur in Maranello ‘grow rapidly’.

Horner has rejected Ferrari’s previous offers in favour of staying at Red Bull, having built the team up from the foundations and given that he enjoyed total control there. But Ferrari are now considering a fresh approach to Horner out of fear that rival F1 teams could target him.

Mike Hezemans tips Christian Horner to join Ferrari as a CEO like Zak Brown at McLaren

Alpine could be the most obvious alternative to Ferrari for Horner to return to Formula 1, as the Enstone squad have been without a team principal since Oliver Oakes resigned this May. But Alpine have hired Steve Nielsen as their managing director to oversee day-to-day duties.

So, Ferrari refusing to give Vasseur their total commitment ahead of his contract expiring at the end of the 2025 F1 season may open a door for Horner after he was sacked by Red Bull. Yet Mike Hezemans does not believe Horner will return to Formula 1 to be a team principal.

Instead, Hezemans touts Horner to join Ferrari as their new F1 CEO, in a role like what Zak Brown holds at McLaren with Andrea Stella working under him as the team principal. Their leadership structure has seen McLaren surpass Red Bull as the team to beat in the last year.

“I think Horner will go to Ferrari,” Hezemans told RacingNews365. “I think he’ll go to Ferrari, but in more of a Zak Brown role. He’s very good politically, really strong, and I don’t think he wants to take on a team manager role himself anymore.

“I don’t think he’ll go to Ferrari tomorrow, but I think he’ll return in a role similar to Zak Brown’s at McLaren. He’s not the team principal at that team either. So, perhaps in a CEO-like role. I also think he’d be good at that.”

The £3.8bn-valued Ferrari F1 team have endured a more disappointing term so far on paper than Red Bull, who sacked Horner as the squad are only fourth in the 2025 F1 constructors’ standings after 12 rounds on 172 points to McLaren’s 460, Ferrari’s 222 and Mercedes’ 210.

Red Bull’s woes are heavily weighted on fighting single-handedly through Max Verstappen, who has scored 165 of their points so far. Only McLaren have scored more pole positions in 2025 than Red Bull with seven to four and Grand Prix wins with nine to two this campaign.

Vasseur faces an uncertain future at Ferrari as the Scuderia are still yet to earn a single pole position or Grand Prix win in 2025. Only Mercedes have disrupted McLaren and Red Bull’s supremacy this year when George Russell won the Canadian Grand Prix from pole position.