Christian Horner would not ‘tolerate’ working with three-podium driver if he returned to Formula 1

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Christian Horner developed a reputation at Red Bull Racing for making more driver switches than many of his rivals.

Since being promoted into a Red Bull seat in 2016, Max Verstappen has had six different teammates.

Yuki Tsunoda is the latest incumbent on the other side of the garage, although it appears as though Red Bull are going to promote Isack Hadjar next season, adding another new driver to Verstappen’s tally of fallen teammates.

That decision will have nothing to do with Christian Horner, although Horner was eyeing up promoting Hadjar before he was dismissed after the British Grand Prix.

The 51-year-old only wants to work with the best and made a point of hiring David Coulthard during Red Bull’s first season on the grid, relying on his experience to get the team off the ground.

Horner has been linked with plenty of teams since his Red Bull exit, and one name that keeps cropping up is Aston Martin.

However, journalists Ben Hunt and Rebecca Clancy don’t believe Horner would ‘tolerate’ working with Lance Stroll as one of his drivers.

READ MORE: All to know on sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth

Christian Horner wouldn’t ‘tolerate’ working with Lance Stroll if he joins Aston Martin

Speaking on the Inside the Piranha Club Podcast, Hunt and Clancy were talking about Horner’s future.

Hunt explained: “Looking at what’s available at the moment, I wouldn’t say that there are many appetising choices for him.

“I think that Aston Martin would be very difficult for him to come in.

“I think that there’s sort of water under the bridge already with that [between Horner and Newey], and they went to the Oasis concert together.

“I firmly believe that those two could still work together in some capacity.

“I just think that they needed a break. But I could see him potentially working with Adrian.

“I think the issue there is Lawrence and how would Lawrence Stroll take to Horner being there and Horner saying, ‘How am I going to work here if I’ve got to fire your son?’”

Clancy replied: “Yeah. Well, that’s what I was going to say. Horner would not tolerate Lance Stroll.”

Hunt concluded: “That wouldn’t work. So, that’s ruled out.”

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Adrian Newey being ‘pulled into’ working on Aston Martin’s 2025 F1 car as ‘big mess’ continues

Adrian Newey is going to play a key role in Aston Martin’s fortunes next year, having joined from Red Bull earlier in the season.

For what it’s worth, Newey has been surprised by Stroll behind the scenes, and he was only overtaken by Fernando Alonso in the drivers’ championship in Singapore.

This season has been a struggle for Lawrence Stroll’s team, and discussing Newey’s role, Hunt explained: “I mean, it’s been a mess all season, pretty much like the Ferrari scenario.

“I think that there’s definitely something going on at Aston Martin now.

“There’s a bit of a problem, Adrian Newey, yes, he’s working on that 2026 car, but I think that ultimately he’s being pulled into this quickly.

“We need something to help us because this year’s just not gone to plan, again.

“I think Alonso, despite his talent, is also struggling. The car’s not right, it’s not made the progress that they had hoped.

“And I think the other element as well is the way that team is managed and run by Lawrence Stroll, it makes it very difficult.

“Adrian Newey has always had freedom to design and sort of go about his business without ever being hauled in front of the main boss to explain his workings, if you like.”

“Whereas that may be a slightly different scenario and proposition at Aston Martin, where we know that Lawrence is definitely on it and wants results and is paying for results, and he’s just not getting them at the moment.”

Horner being linked with Aston Martin has concerned some staff, and team principal Andy Cowell played down reports that they could end up working together.

However, there are suggestions that Aston Martin could be looking for investment, which could play into Horner’s hands if things don’t start brightly next year.