The ‘suspicions’ Christian Horner fuelled in the F1 paddock about Ferrari links before his Red Bull exit

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Red Bull have confirmed the departure of team principal Christian Horner after 20 years with the team. He won eight drivers’ titles and six constructors’ championships with the Milton Keynes outfit.

Red Bull and Horner set new records in the ground effect with Max Verstappen’s dominance. But heading into the new technical regulations in 2026, their rivals have caught up and left them struggling to score podiums, let alone race wins.

Sitting 69 points behind Oscar Piastri at the halfway point in 2025 and out of the title fight, by his own admission, Verstappen demanded change at Red Bull. The Dutchman wanted to see Horner’s powers limited or be outright replaced; he got his wish on Wednesday.

Red Bull have parted ways with Horner, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies stepping up to replace him. His departure has, understandably, prompted speculation as to where the 51-year-old will end up next.

Before his exit from Red Bull, Ferrari had been linked with signing the Brit as Fred Vasseur faces pressure to keep his job amid their struggles in 2025. Ferrari casually approached Horner over a potential move, but the Red Bull boss was ambiguous regarding the details of the rumours.

Christian Horner raised ‘suspicions’ that he used his Ferrari links as leverage to stay at Red Bull

The 51-year-old played down the speculation about him going to Maranello, but Horner ‘noticeably did not answer questions about speaking to Ferrari. As journalist Jon Noble noted via The Race F1 Podcast, there may have been a reason for that.

Noble says that Horner raised ‘suspicions’ in the paddock that he was ‘happy’ to fuel the rumours of him joining Ferrari to ‘strengthen his hand’ at Red Bull. The team would think he would head there and beat them with Ferrari, giving him leverage to stay in Milton Keynes.

Discussing Horner’s future in F1, Noble said: “But I think the other thing that cannot be discounted now also is Ferrari. We know that John Elkann was eager last time around to get Christian.

“He visited his house in the summer of ’22 to try to convince Christian to come on board. But at the time, Christian wasn’t interested, he said: ‘No, you don’t want to speak to me, you go and get Fred Vasseur’, which is what happened in the end.

“But then you do wonder now, it popped up a few weeks ago, the suspicions that maybe Christian was happy to fuel these latest Ferrari rumours because it strengthened his hand.

“That if there was a risk of him going, then maybe Red Bull would feel that he’ll just end up at Ferrari and end up beating us, so probably would be best to have him on board.

“But now you just wonder that, maybe Elkann will have a quick chat to see what’s going on.”

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Where will Christian Horner go next after leaving Red Bull?

With Horner now out of Red Bull, his links to Maranello have heightened. Ferrari see a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to sign Horner as they look to be a force under the new regulations with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Horner would only join Ferrari if he had complete freedom with the team to work how he wants. Given the team’s stubbornness with their operation, that might draw the 51-year-old away and to other outfits.

Horner has been heavily linked with Alpine in recent weeks, given his close connection to Flavio Briatore. The Enstone outfit are searching for a new team principal since Oliver Oakes’ resignation back in May.

Briatore reacted to Horner’s Red Bull exit on social media amid the speculation. He could look to bring his close friend on board at Alpine, but rumours are suggesting that he would want to become a minority shareholder in the company if he made the move.