Christian Horner ‘destined’ not to land F1 return that Lewis Hamilton would hate after Red Bull sacking

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Christian Horner is set to leave Red Bull after being sacked as their F1 team principal and replaced by Laurent Mekies, so where his future lies is now one topic of debate.

It still remains to be seen why Red Bull have opted to sack Horner after 20 years in charge of the Milton Keynes crew. He built Red Bull up from the ailing Jaguar team since their debut in 2005 to win six constructors’ titles, eight drivers’ titles and 124 Grands Prix from 405 starts.

Yet Red Bull sacked Horner without telling him why he was being stripped of his operational duties as their F1 team principal and CEO, with Mekies promoted from Racing Bulls to be his successor. Horner remains employed by Red Bull for now as his contract runs through 2030.

Horner is in talks with Red Bull over a severance package that may be worth £50m given the five-and-a-half years left on his contract believed to be the most lucrative out of the current team principals. The 51-year-old has also already been lined up for a return to the paddock.

Christian Horner is ‘destined’ not to take charge of Ferrari after being sacked by Red Bull

It is not impossible that Horner joins Cadillac ahead of the General Motors brand’s debut in the 2026 F1 season. It is even said that Ferrari feel they have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sign Horner after Red Bull sacked him, with a vacancy on the cards in Maranello next term.

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But while Ferrari must make a decision about Fred Vasseur, whose contract is due to expire after the 2025 F1 season, reports by Automoto.it claim a swoop by the Scuderia for Horner is ‘unsupported by reality’. Instead, a more likely landing spot for the Briton may now be Alpine.

The 51-year-old is ‘destined’ not to take charge of Ferrari and be the boss of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc next year once Horner’s Red Bull gardening leave likely expires. But it is not implausible that Flavio Briatore looks to hire Horner to occupy a leading role for Alpine.

Alpine recently appointed Steve Nielsen as their new managing director and he will oversee the day-to-day operations in Enstone. But Briatore, who is only an executive adviser for the Renault Group, has a close relationship with Horner, which is leaving the door open for him.

Lewis Hamilton will be happy if Christian Horner does not replace Fred Vasseur at Ferrari

Horner being linked as a possible replacement for Vasseur at Ferrari is only natural after Red Bull sacked the Briton from his role as their F1 team principal and CEO. Horner is Ferrari CEO John Elkann’s old obsession, and also held talks with the Scuderia before they hired Vasseur.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

Suggestions that Horner now replacing Vasseur at Ferrari being ‘unsupported by reality’ will no doubt delight Hamilton, though. While Elkann admires the Leamington Spa native, it has been suggested that Hamilton would likely consider leaving Ferrari if they appointed Horner.

While Hamilton has not enjoyed the start to his Ferrari career that the seven-time champion would have wanted, the 40-year-old still has complete faith in Vasseur. The Frenchman was also key to his decision to join the Scuderia, having led Hamilton to his 2006 GP2 Series title.