Christian Horner now in ‘ongoing’ talks to buy rival F1 team after missing out on Aston Martin role

Christian Horner was overlooked for the team principal role at Aston Martin in favour of Adrian Newey, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still looking for opportunities to return to Formula 1.

Aston Martin announced Adrian Newey as their new team principal ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, but he won’t officially start in the role until 2026.

Andy Cowell is being shifted across into a new chief strategy officer role after days of speculation about his future.

Is Lawrence Stroll giving Adrian Newey TOO MUCH responsibility ahead of 2026?

“Andy Cowell has been a great leader this year. He’s focussed on building a world-class team and getting them to work well together, as well as fostering a culture that puts the race car back at the heart of what we do.

“This leadership change is a mutual decision we have reached in the interest of the Team. We all look forward to continuing working with him in his new capacity as Chief Strategy Officer.

“I’m also pleased that Adrian Newey will step into the Team Principal role, which will enable him to make full use of his creative and technical expertise. Both these changes will ensure the Team is best placed to play to their collective strengths.”
Lawrence Stroll on Adrian Newey becoming Aston Martin team principal in 2026

One of the names linked with Aston Martin after the race in Las Vegas was Christian Horner.

Horner set out his list of demands to Aston Martin, which included wanting a part-ownership stake in the team.

The CEO role at Aston Martin might still be open to Horner, but journalist Jon Noble and former F1 driver Robert Doornbos think the former Red Bull chief still has his eye on returning to the paddock with Alpine.

Red Bull driver Christian Horner and Flavio Briatore in a press conference at the 2025 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix — Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images

Christian Horner is still in ‘ongoing’ talks with Alpine after Aston Martin team principal snub

Noble was speaking about Horner on The Race F1 Podcast, and he explained: “Well, we know Christian’s been speaking to Lawrence Stroll.

“We know that Christian wasn’t just interested in being a team principal. He wants more than that. He wants a shareholding in a team.

“He wants influence, he wants control. So it would be a senior position if he were going to come back to Formula 1.

“He’s been speaking not just to Aston Martin. There were talks of Alpine ongoing. There are some other options, including setting up his own 12th team. So he’s evaluating what to do.

Which Formula 1 team will Christian Horner join next?

“And I’m not sure that Adrian Newey being made team principal would shut that route off just yet. I think there are decisions to be made quite soon.

“And you could see Horner slotting into a CEO role there, taking on the larger responsibilities, maybe taking away some of those elements that Adrian Newey doesn’t want to waste his time with.

“We know Christian was very, very good with commercial partners, commercial sponsors, pushing them on. We know Christian Horner loves being in front of a television camera and speaking to the media.

“We know Christian was very, very good at dealing with staff, dealing with those HR issues, looking after the personnel, motivating people, being that kind of unifying force to push a team forward.

“So there is a lot that Christian could still bring to the table, which would then allow Newey to fulfil this extra kind of creative freedom that they say this new role is about.”

In addition to Noble’s analysis, Doornbos said on The Pit Talk Podcast: “I heard that Christian is forming a consortium of investors to buy Alpine, which is really struggling, and there he could obviously also get shares.”

Alpine are entering a make-or-break 2026 F1 campaign after disastrous 2025 season

Unless something incredible happens in Qatar or Abu Dhabi, Alpine will finish bottom of the constructors’ championship this season.

After finishing sixth last year, Alpine have suffered a significant drop-off, and there’s been disruption both at the top of the team and in the cockpit.

Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan but has yet to score a point, and Steve Nielsen was named as team principal, with Flavio Briatore retaining an overarching leadership role.

Who will win the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

Alpine will switch to Mercedes power units in 2026, abandoning their Renault engines in a bid to become more competitive.

It means they’ve taken the unusual step of abandoning their works team status, and if next season isn’t a success, then it’s hard to see Renault wanting to continue to invest in the project.

Alpine have considered selling a partial stake in the team, and Horner might want to take advantage of that. How well they start the 2026 campaign could determine whether Horner has a chance to return to F1 with the Anglo-French outfit.

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