By Joe Murphy
Christian Horner has said that a dream role at Ferrari is the only job in Formula 1 that would tempt him back onto the pit wall without an ownership stake. Speaking to The Times this week, the 52-year-old said he had spent 21 years as a hired hand on the pit wall and did not need to go back to that, but Ferrari was different. He described it as the biggest brand in Formula 1, the dream, and arguably the sleeping giant of the sport.
The comments are significant because Horner has spent the last 14 months out of the sport following a sudden and bruising exit from Red Bull. He was sacked on 9 July 2025, just days after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The weekend had started with Max Verstappen taking pole but finishing fifth, and 24 hours later Horner was called to a meeting in London and told that operationally he was no longer involved in the running of the team. He later described the moment on Netflix’s Drive to Survive as being handed a shit sandwich, saying he felt a real sense of loss and hurt and never got a chance to say a proper goodbye.
Horner’s departure ended the only leadership Red Bull had ever known since it bought Jaguar from Ford and entered the championship in 2005. In that time he oversaw eight drivers’ titles and six constructors’ titles across two eras with Sebastian Vettel and then Verstappen, with 14 combined world championships in total. But his final two seasons were marked by turbulence. Following the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz, a power struggle developed between Horner and his Thai shareholders, the Yoovidhya family, on one side and chief advisor Helmut Marko and Red Bull GmbH boss Oliver Mintzlaff on the other. That followed an investigation in early 2024 into an allegation of inappropriate behaviour towards an employee, from which he was cleared, but which triggered public criticism from Jos Verstappen and the subsequent departures of Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley. On track, Red Bull’s dominant 2023 form faded, with the team slipping to third in the constructors’ in 2024 despite Verstappen holding off Lando Norris to win the drivers’ crown, and form dipping again in the first half of 2025.
Red Bull replaced Horner with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies and later appointed Stefan Salzer as a company director. Horner was officially terminated as a director at Companies House on 13 August 2025, though he remained under contract until 2030. Reports put his severance at between £52 million and £80 million, with claims he waived around £30 million to shorten his gardening leave. He kept a low profile before making his first paddock appearance in July 2026 at Silverstone, where he told Sky Sports he still had another dance left in Formula 1.
Until now he has insisted any comeback would have to involve equity, linking him with a minority stake in Alpine and talk of a new twelfth team backed by BYD. Ferrari, where Fred Vasseur is under pressure after four races without a podium, is the one team he says he would join simply as an employee. Horner was clear that no approach has been made, but his message leaves little doubt he would listen.
