Christian Horner may be eyeing a return to Formula 1, just days after being given an eye-watering £80million settlement by Red Bull Racing.
The 51-year-old was brutally axed from the company he had been at for 20 years following the British Grand Prix in July. Red Bull were going through a string of poor performances and felt a change needed to be made.
Now it’s been revealed that Horner may be looking to return to the sport with an old friend.
F1 reporter Tom Cary has suggested a move to Aston Martin may be on the cards for Horner, writing: “It seems inconceivable that he will not return, albeit he will want to come back as a shareholder this time, with skin in the game –something he lacked at Red Bull.
Christian Horner was removed from Red Bull earlier this year | REUTERS“Williams and Alpine would both be possibilities. Both UK-based, both within striking distance of Horner’s home in Northamptonshire.
“But Williams are already on an upwards trajectory under James Vowles, a former protégé of Wolff. Would the Grove team want to risk upsetting the apple cart by bringing in Horner?
“Alpine would appear more likely. Horner has an excellent relationship with Flavio Briatore, who must be close to calling it a day at 75. Plus, they are massively underperforming.
“Which leaves Aston Martin. Perhaps the most intriguing option of all. Hugely ambitious. Incredible new facilities. A team just waiting for lift-off. Horner is well acquainted with Honda, which will supply the team’s power units from next season, while a move to the Silverstone-based outfit would also reunite him with Adrian Newey, the man with whom he conquered Everest at Red Bull, but whose departure last year, under a huge cloud, did so much to destabilise him.
“The manner of that exit undoubtedly caused friction, but anyone saying they cannot be reconciled is talking baloney. The pair were spotted together at an Oasis concert earlier this summer, and retain strong familial ties. Newey is godfather to Horner’s daughter. Do not rule out a move from the ultra-ambitious Lawrence Stroll.”
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Adrian Newey and Christian Horner could be set for a reunion at Aston Martin
| GettySince Horner has been removed from the Milton Keynes outfit, results have started to come back to Red Bull. They have secured back-to-back wins in Monza and Baku with Max Verstappen, and the Dutchman is slowly pulling himself back into the title fight with the two McLarens.
While the results have started to come under new team principal Laurent Mekies, Cary thinks it has more to do with Horner’s work than it would first appear.
He continued: “Laurent Mekies, the new team principal, has clearly made a few tweaks here and there, and also deserves huge credit for steadying the ship.
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“In particular, the Frenchman is said to be adopting a slightly different philosophy since taking over, one less guided in set-up by simulation and more by Verstappen’s preferences. But the truth is you do not become a race-winning team overnight.
“The current Red Bull car is more or less the same as the one which took pole position at Silverstone in July, a few days before Horner’s defenestration, when it also ran with a big front wing and a skinny rear wing, and took a brilliant pole position.
“Who knows what might have happened had the heavens not opened in Northamptonshire on that Sunday? Similarly, the recent floor upgrade in Monza, which is reckoned to be worth around 0.1 seconds, would have been conceived and planned before Mekies took over.
Max Verstappen has dominated the last two Grand Prix races
| REUTERS“The point is, Red Bull were already a high-performing outfit, with a workforce and a mindset attuned to success. Horner was the architect of that.”
Whether or not Verstappen is able to bring himself back in the title fight in the remaining races this season, Horner will still be given a lot of credit for how his years with Red Bull shaped up, as well as the dominance that was shown in recent years.
The 51-year-old will now have his sights set on returning to F1, potentially with a rival team just down the road from the one he led for 20 years.