Martin Brundle shares what Christian Horner made ‘absolutely clear’ in chat about F1 comeback plans

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Christian Horner may not be in the Singapore Grand Prix, but his name is on the lips of many Formula 1 insiders. Martin Brundle has laid out the conditions of a potential comeback.

This is the first race since Horner finalised his split with Red Bull. He’s already spoken to multiple teams about returning to the sport, having been cleared to do so next spring.

While preliminary negotiations with Haas were unsuccessful, Horner has held talks with Lawrence Stroll, the Aston Martin owner. Stroll is actively seeking investors for what he hopes will be a title-winning project.

Horner has also considered setting up his own team and is already said to have financial backers in place. This would apparently cost him over £300m in payments to the current grid.

Martin Brundle says Christian Horner will ‘only come back’ if he gets a stake in a team

Speaking to Sky Sports, Martin Brundle predicted that Horner would struggle to gain approval for his own team. He expects strong resistance from the existing teams, many of whom were initially opposed to accepting Cadillac.

Teams are wary that any new arrivals would reduce their share of prize money. Therefore, they must add enough to the sport’s brand to increase its revenue.

Brundle has previously suggested that Horner is ‘desperate’ to have a stake in a team, emulating Toto Wolff’s role at Mercedes. He’s apparently made this ‘absolutely clear’ in their conversations.

“I think the current teams in Formula 1 will be pushing hard, as will other stakeholders, to say they don’t want a 12th team in Formula 1 at the moment while they’re all jockeying around trying to sort the 2026 regulations out,” Brundle said.

“That might be an extra hurdle for Christian. Formula 1’s his life – that’s where his skills and experience lie. He made it absolutely clear to me when I spoke to him that he will only come back if he’s got a skin in the game, if he’s got a share in the team and is building something, rather than being a manager as he was with Red Bull.

“He couldn’t get any shareholding in that. Toto Wolff is a good example of how to do that as a one-third shareholder in the Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 team.

“I’m sure there’ll be partners, as we like to call them, sponsors we might call them, and other people who might want to join Christian on that journey.”

Two reasons Christian Horner won’t join Aston Martin

Some have wondered whether Horner’s relationship with Adrian Newey, Aston Martin’s managing technical partner, could preclude a move. Newey resigned from Red Bull last year, but has met up with his old colleague socially since.

There are other obstacles in the way, though. Like the rest of the teams, Aston Martin are restricted by the cost cap, and they can only exclude the salaries of their top three staff members.

With Newey, Andy Cowell and Enrico Cardile recently making high-profile moves, it’s unclear if they have enough breathing room to add Horner too.

What’s more, the tension between Horner and Max Verstappen’s camp could be a factor. Stroll Sr’s determination to recruit the world champion is well known, but he may not be able to sign both.