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Christian Horner recently made his return to the F1 paddock at Silverstone, yet his bid to return with a new team continues to suffer setbacks linked to his tenure at Red Bull.
One year has now passed since Red Bull sacked Horner from his roles as their CEO and team principal after 20 years in charge of the Austrian energy drink’s squad. Horner was due to be under contract for Red Bull until 2030, but his time in Milton Keynes had become untenable.
A blend of Horner’s fights for power with Helmut Marko and with the parent Red Bull GmbH company alongside Red Bull Racing suffering declining results pushed the Briton through the exit door. Laurent Mekies took over from Horner only days after the 2025 British Grand Prix.
How should Red Bull have handled Christian Horner’s sacking? 🤔
Christian Horner knows Toto Wolff and Zak Brown would never let him join Mercedes or McLaren
The 2026 British GP this July marked the date for Horner’s first time back in the F1 paddock since Red Bull sacked him. Horner wanted to use Silverstone as his platform to promote his book, but it also offered the Briton a platform to remind the F1 paddock that he is still free.
READ MORE: Who is Christian Horner? Everything to know from Red Bull past to net worth
According to multiple sources of Auto Action, Horner has so far had no success trying to get a team to bring him back to Formula 1, despite approaching seven of the 11 current squads. Horner has even tried to convince several car manufacturers to enter F1 with him in charge.
The only F1 teams that Horner has not approached are Red Bull and their sister crew Racing Bulls, for obvious reasons, as well as Mercedes and McLaren. Horner knows that it would be ‘pointless’ even calling Mercedes or McLaren to discuss holding exploratory talks, as neither Toto Wolff nor Zak Brown would even contemplate hiring him given their deep-seated feuds.
Horner’s ‘personal animosity’ with Mercedes CEO, team principal and part-owner Wolff plus McLaren CEO Brown remains far too deep-rooted for them to welcome the 52-year-old back to F1 in their teams no matter the role. So, Horner is having to look further back in the field.
How many years would it take Christian Horner to win races with BYD?
But where Horner may land still remains to be seen, despite his gardening leave period after being sacked by Red Bull and getting nearly £80m to leave ending this May. Even the idea of returning to F1 by bringing a new car company seems unlikely, as BYD held talks with Horner but executive vice president Stella Li has stated that “there is no project” for BYD to join F1.
It is also suggested that even Haas have closed their doors to Horner, as owner Gene Haas is happy with the job that Ayao Komatsu has done as their team principal. Gene also fears that Haas could lose their title partnership with Toyota if Horner were to join the American team.
Horner spent 20 years in charge of Red Bull and led them to each of the team’s eight drivers’ titles (four with Sebastian Vettel and four with Max Verstappen). The Briton also oversaw all eight of Red Bull’s constructors’ titles, along with the formation of their own engine division.
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