Christian Horner could be prevented from joining Aston Martin due to F1 cost cap rule

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Christian Horner’s links to Aston Martin have picked up steam on the Friday of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. But there could be a regulatory issue that stops him from joining.

Horner has held talks with Lawrence Stroll, the Aston Martin owner, about a potential F1 comeback. He’s looking to invest in a team, and Stroll is open to selling a minority stake.

While there are other parties in conversation with Stroll too, Horner already has backers in place. He’s in a position to make a ‘substantial’ offer.

Former Red Bull boss Horner, who was sacked in July but only formally released late last month, has also approached Haas, but the talks didn’t progress. Aston Martin and Alpine look like the only viable options at this stage, unless he sets up his own team.

Aston Martin can only exclude salaries of top three staff from cost cap

According to Motorsport Italia, it’s ‘difficult’ to see Horner fitting into Aston Martin’s ‘already large management structure’. He would want a position at least on a par with Andy Cowell, the incumbent team principal.

One can envisage the potential for conflict in that scenario. The ‘costs associated with his potential entry into the team’ could also be a problem.

Driver salaries and the wages of a team’s top-three employees are currently exempt from the F1 cost cap. However, in addition to Cowell, Stroll has also signed two top engineers in Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile.

Their salaries aren’t publicly known, but given their stature in the sport, they likely sit in the highest salary bracket. Stroll has invested nearly £800m into Aston Martin, suggesting he has little breathing room with the budgetary restrictions.

Bringing Horner on board would mean that the fourth-highest salary would have to be included in the cap, which may not be feasible.

Could Christian Horner become the next Helmut Marko at Aston Martin?

There are rumours that Aston Martin gave Newey shares in the team in exchange for a lower salary. That subtle tactic could pay dividends if Stroll tries to sign another big-name managerial figure like Horner.

Newey’s relationship with Horner is strong enough for a reunion to be viable, even if the legendary designer resigned from his post at Red Bull last year.

However, Auto Motor und Sport note that Cowell was ‘visibly uncomfortable’ when facing questions about Horner in the Marina Bay paddock. He would be likely impacted most by the move.

AMuS add that Horner could take on a Helmut Marko-esque role at Silverstone. Marko is effectively above Red Bull’s new team principal Laurent Mekies in the structure and serves as the motorsport advisor to the Austrian ownership.