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Christian Horner met Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the FIA’s headquarters in Paris this Wednesday, amid the former Red Bull chief’s bid to return to the F1 paddock in 2026.
Horner is free to take up a new role in Formula 1 from the end of April after Red Bull agreed to reduce the length of his gardening leave after firing the Briton in July last year. The parent Red Bull GmbH company sacked Horner after 20 years in charge of the brand’s top F1 team.
Red Bull fired Horner in response to the Austrian energy drinks brand’s F1 squad suffering a decline in their results, along with his fight for even more power in Milton Keynes. Also, Red Bull paid Horner between £52m and £80m to leave his role, as his contract lasted until 2030.
Horner has met with US and Middle East investors to raise funds since leaving Red Bull, with the 52-year-old determined to be more than a team principal or a CEO at whatever team he returns to F1 with. His most likely ways back to F1 are joining Alpine or creating a new team.
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Christian Horner did not meet Mohammed Ben Sulayem to discuss creating a new F1 team
Flavio Briatore, the executive F1 adviser to the Renault Group, has confirmed that Horner is in talks to buy Otro Capital’s 24% stake in Alpine. Otro Capital is open to selling the shares it bought from Renault in Alpine back in 2023, and has also received a number of approaches.
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Horner’s alternative to Alpine would be to create a new F1 team, as the F1 regulations allow for 12 teams. But Craig Slater reports that while Horner is exploring both options, he did not discuss either idea with FIA president Ben Sulayem when they met in Paris this Wednesday.
Slater said on Sky Sports News (28/1, 13:21): “Christian Horner with the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Does this mean that Christian Horner is very intently pursuing putting together a consortium to place a 12th team on the F1 grid?
“He has been looking at that. I understand this meeting, which they’ve had today, and you can see the two men embracing very friendlily, was just a chat between friends. So, that wasn’t the centre point of what they were discussing.
“The latest on Christian Horner is that he has made a serious approach with his business associates to buy a shareholding in the Alpine team, currently held by Otro Capital.
“[He is] one of a number of interested parties holding discussions with them. As I understand it, though, the Renault Group has ultimate governance in terms of who that shareholding is sold to, certainly at the moment. So, let’s see how that develops.
“But it’s a serious approach from Horner and his business associates to look at buying into that team, which would be his quickest way of getting back into F1.”
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Ben Sulayem shared the photos that Slater referred to from his meeting with Horner at the FIA’s headquarters in Paris on Instagram. Horner and Ben Sulayem built a close relationship during the former’s time as Red Bull’s team principal after the latter took up office in 2021.
Horner’s close relationship with Ben Sulayem could help him to establish a new F1 team, as the Briton would need the FIA to ratify the entry. The Briton would also need to prove to F1 that his entry would increase the value of the championship and be a competitive product.
F1 rejected Andretti’s application to establish a new team as the championship did not think the American motorsport giant would improve the series’ value. General Motors taking over the Andretti application to enter F1 via its Cadillac brand ultimately saw the entry approved.
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