Christian Horner now wants to ‘take over everything’ at one Formula 1 team after Red Bull exit

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The 2026 Formula 1 season will bring back a lot of unpredictability in the paddock with all 11 teams preparing for a brand new ruleset.

That means 11 F1 team principals will be under a lot of pressure to justify the decisions they’ve made over the past few seasons, which could create an opening for former Red Bull chief Christian Horner.

Although Horner’s stance on an immediate return to F1 has slightly softened, he’s still looking very closely at all the opportunities available to him.

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There are several teams where it’s impossible to see Horner join, such as Mercedes or going back to Red Bull.

The likes of Aston Martin, Haas and Cadillac have all publicly distanced themselves from hiring the 52-year-old, too.

However, Horner has been linked with a partial takeover of Alpine, and it sounds like he’s aiming to become even more involved with the Anglo-French outfit than previously imagined.

READ MORE: Who is Christian Horner? All you need to know from Red Bull to net worth

Christian Horner aiming to ‘take over everything’ at Alpine in Formula 1 return

Alpine finished bottom of the constructors’ championship last year, with Pierre Gasly scoring 100% of their points.

The lack of confidence Alpine put in Jack Doohan, with Franco Colapinto lingering in the garage at every race, didn’t help either, with the Australian dropped after just six races.

Horner has plenty of experience making difficult decisions when it comes to drivers, and would likely be as ruthless as Flavio Briatore when it comes to deciding his driver line-up.

A report from Blick has shared more details about the upcoming 2026 campaign.

They report that Horner’s old Red Bull colleague, Adrian Newey, has overseen the hiring of 300 new staff at Aston Martin ahead of next year.

On top of this, they report that Horner ‘wants to get in and take over everything soon’ at Alpine.

This suggests that, as well as buying into the ownership structure at the Enstone-based team, he will also want to return to the pit wall as team principal.

Whether Briatore or current team principal Steve Nielsen are on board with that is another matter.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Alpine now hoping Mercedes power unit will improve their fortunes during the 2026 F1 season

Alpine were partially held back during the previous era of Formula 1 by their Renault power unit.

The freeze on engine updates during the past few seasons meant Alpine were always on the back foot, and at certain tracks, they were simply unable to compete with their rivals.

Alpine have signed a deal with Mercedes to start using their power units from 2026 onwards.

It’s meant taking the unusual decision to abandon being a factory team and becoming a customer instead, which could benefit them on track, but gives them far less control over the development of their car.

There have previously been suggestions that Mercedes might not want to work with Horner in any capacity, even if he joined a team they were supposed to be supplying engines to.

It’s unlikely that Mercedes will have any control over cancelling a deal with Alpine if Horner arrived, but it would mean that he would have to potentially enter direct negotiations with Toto Wolff.

The pair haven’t always had the best relationship, and that would add another layer of intrigue to what’s happening in the paddock next season.