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Christian Horner might be closing in on a return to Formula 1 less than six months after being sacked by Red Bull Racing.
All 11 Formula 1 teams are putting the finishing touches to their new cars ahead of a behind-closed-doors test in Barcelona at the end of January.
The success of those cars will likely determine how long each team principal in the pit lane has to save their jobs, with Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur already under pressure after a dismal 2025 campaign.
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One team who know they need to make a drastic improvement from last year are Alpine.
After finishing at the bottom of the constructors’ championship, the Anglo-French team have abandoned their Renault engines to begin working with Mercedes in 2026.
Journalist Pedro Fermin Flores has now suggested that Christian Horner and Alpine could be getting closer to beginning a partnership next season that could mutually benefit both parties.
READ MORE: Who is Christian Horner? All you need to know from Red Bull to net worth
Christian Horner in ‘advanced negotiations’ to take part-ownership role at Alpine
Writing on his website, Flores has shared more details about Horner’s potential link-up with Alpine.
He suggests that Horner is now in ‘advanced negotiations’ with Alpine to ‘acquire a stake’ in the one-time race winners.
It’s been widely believed for some time that Horner would only return to Formula 1 if he was able to acquire an ownership stake in a team, rather than simply being a team principal.
Horner is ‘highly unlikely’ to continue working with Flavio Briatore, Alpine’s current chief advisor, despite their good relationship.
Flores believes ‘talks have been progressing for months’ between Horner and Alpine with a view to taking on a ‘significant operational role’.
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The 52-year-old is leading a group of investors aiming to buy a 24% stake in Alpine that currently belongs to Otro Capital.
This would put him on a par with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who recently sold a partial stake in the team.
Flores suggests that Horner’s team of investors could bring in ‘more than £600m’, providing him with significant ‘influence’ in the team’s management and strategic decisions.
No formal agreement has been reached yet, but the ‘mutual interest’ between the two parties is not insignificant.
It’s easy to see why Alpine would be interested in Horner’s help, given the position Red Bull were in back in 2005 when he became team principal after their takeover of Jaguar.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
How Alpine stakeholders feel about selling to Christian Horner after dire 2025 season
In most sports, if a team finished bottom of the championship, the value of that outfit would only decrease.
However, the rapid growth of Formula 1 over the past few years means that investors at Otro Capital who bought their stake less than three years ago would still make a significant profit if Horner’s investment is accepted.
It’s believed that Alpine’s minority owners are ready to sell, which should speed up negotiations between the two parties.
Whether Renault, Alpine’s majority owners, want Horner’s input going forward is another matter, although his relationship with Briatore might help in this instance.
Horner would likely want a hands-on role at Alpine, which raises questions over the role of current team principal Steve Nielsen.
It’s also believed that some Red Bull staff have a Horner clause in their contracts, which could make them prime targets for Alpine should the 52-year-old take control.
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