Christian Horner may now seriously consider joining Audi due to Toto Wolff and Mercedes

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Audi have now marked Christian Horner as their ideal team principal target to replace Jonathan Wheatley, with his gardening leave after being fired by Red Bull almost over.

Red Bull sacked Horner after 20 years in charge of the team last July in an attempt to resolve their declining results and terminate his power struggle with Helmut Marko. Horner and Red Bull ultimately formalised his exit in September as his contract was due to run through 2030.

Horner accepted a reduced severance package to leave Red Bull to then reduce the duration of his gardening leave, which is expected to end this April. The Briton will then be free to get a new job in F1, which Audi now hope will be with them after Wheatley resigned this March.

Audi announced Wheatley’s exit within hours of him being linked with Aston Martin, as they look to hire a new team principal who can free Adrian Newey to focus on their car. Wheatley had only taken over Audi last April after he, like Newey, left Red Bull while Horner was there.

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Mercedes’ interest in Otro Capital’s Alpine shares could tempt Christian Horner to join Audi

An unusual game of musical chairs could now develop that sees Horner join Audi to replace Wheatley, who is expected to reunite with Newey at Aston Martin. Audi’s search for a team principal has now taken them towards Horner, as he has yet to seal his return to Formula 1.

READ MORE: Who is Christian Horner? Everything to know from Red Bull past to net worth

That is according to Formula Technica, which reports that the top Audi bosses see Horner as the ‘ideal candidate’ to restore order in the team. Audi believe they ‘urgently’ need a figure who can oversee a long-term vision with effective management, which Horner could deliver.

Audi also do not think Horner’s arrival would clash with F1 project lead Mattia Binotto, as he wants to focus on the race team rather than political matters. The greatest problem for Audi would be that Horner is desperate to return to F1 as a stakeholder in the team that he joins.

Alpine have confirmed that Horner has spoken with Otro Capital about buying its 24% stake in the Enstone-based team as part of a consortium. But Mercedes under Toto Wolff are also interested in buying Otro’s shares in Alpine, which Horner is believed to have taken note of.

Mercedes’ interest in buying a stake in Alpine is thought to have tempted Horner to change his stance, as he would now be open to an ‘alliance’ with Audi. If the German team agree to ‘guarantee’ Horner broad managerial control, he may then ‘seriously consider’ joining Audi.

Horner has spent his time on the sidelines finding investors ready to fund a partial takeover of a Formula 1 team for his return to the paddock. He is determined to own shares, having never had the privilege at Red Bull while Wolff owns a 28% stake in the Mercedes F1 team.

Audi have already sold some shares in the German brand’s F1 team, having sold a 30% stake to the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) back in November 2024. It remains to be seen how willing Audi could be to further weaken their ownership in order to convince Horner to join.

Not only has Horner always been jealous of Wolff owning shares in Mercedes, he even saw Lawrence Stroll make Newey a 5% shareholder in Aston Martin to secure his arrival. So, the 52-year-old will surely want Audi to put a slice of the F1 team on the table for his signature.