Christian Horner sets the record straight on possibly returning to F1 as a Ferrari team boss
Christian Horner has made it clear that his remarks about Ferrari were taken out of context and that he’s not coming back to the sport with the team. The former Red Bull boss is an F1 legend but has been sitting on the sidelines since 2025, when he was fired with immediate effect.
Since then, Christian Horner has been linked with multiple teams, and considering his resume, a lot of these options have appeared viable as well. He was linked with a conglomerate looking to buy a stake in Alpine. He has also been linked multiple times with Ferrari in the last year as the team struggles to reach the zenith of the sport.
His recent remarks in an interview with The Times went viral when he claimed that working for Ferrari would be a dream and that it was the only place where he would even forego the condition of joining as just an employee, not a stakeholder. The quotes led to a lot of media speculation, with publications linking Christian Horner to the team.
Talking to The Guardian, the former Red Bull boss has revealed that his comments were taken out of context and that, since Ferrari would not sell their shares, it’s highly unlikely he joins the team. He said,
“Fred Vasseur is an experienced guy. He’s done a decent job. But I, more than anyone, know the pressures of running a competitive organisation. My comments got taken out of context. Ferrari is the biggest brand in F1. It’s the most historic team. But I’ve accumulated some phenomenal capital behind me, to look at the next move I potentially make in the sport.”
He added,
“That would be with ownership attached to it and Ferrari aren’t going to sell shares. So I’m happy to sit outside the sport and see what opportunities present themselves over the coming months or years. It’s not a prerequisite that I go back. I would only return for the right opportunity with like-minded people that want to win. I would never go back just to take part.”
Christian Horner content with what he’s already achieved in his career
With how F1 is at the moment, it is very hard for anyone to buy their way onto the grid. Every team is essentially a business unit now, and many are not willing to sell their stake when the value keeps on increasing. Christian Horner has put together decent backing, but with no straightforward way to make it back to the grid, his attempts have not really worked out.
Talking to The Guardian, when a possibility was floated that he might never return to the sport, Horner claimed that he was at peace with the idea, as he said,
“Absolutely. But if I don’t go back I had a hell of a run. I won one in every four races I competed in. I had 287 podiums out of 405 races. Nobody could take away the 124 wins and 14 championships [six constructors’ and eight drivers’ titles]. But I felt particularly hurt and robbed I didn’t have the opportunity to see that [Red Bull-manufactured] Powertrains engine win.”
Christian Horner’s return to F1 will depend entirely on whether he gets a stake within a team, and if that possibility is not on the table, we might not see him on the grid for some time.
