Christian Horner left Red Bull completely. No constraints, no obligations, no quibbles that could still somehow connect to the Austrian team and, more generally, to Formula 1. A long period of hiatus from the activity in which he has been involved for the last 21 years awaits him at the moment.
But what could be its future? A high-level manager like Horner could decide to do and go wherever he wants. From taking care of something else, to returning to F1 or creating a team of his own, or picking up someone's legacy and then trying to bring another team, not Red Bull, back to victory.
Only Mercedes, McLaren and the best team of 2026 would deny his access out of hand
In the scenario in which the British manager decided to embrace the cause of some already existing team, in our opinion, only three teams would deny his access out of hand, without even the need to make assessments.
The first is Mercedes. To get Horner into Stuttgart through the front door, as team principal, would have required a global cataclysm. An earthquake should be even stronger and more serious than the one involving Christian Horner himself in Red Bull. Toto Wolff is a very powerful figure within the team. Owning a third is even co-owner. So we would still exclude Mercedes from the equation.
Then there is McLaren. The Woking team comes from a period of strong growth. After winning the constructors' championship in 2024, in 2025 we can take his victory in the team championship almost for granted and the conquest of the drivers with one between Norris and Piastri is very likely. It wouldn't be easy for the British team to put aside a winning manager like Andrea Stella to make way for Horner. Unless he wants to take over in another role, but we doubt it.
The other team that would certainly not open its doors to one of the most successful managers in Formula 1 will be the one that will appear on the starting blocks of the new 2026 technical regulations with the best single-seater on the grid. At the moment it is difficult to say who it will be, but even in this case the same considerations made for McLaren apply.
Considering Red Bull and Racing Bulls excluded from the list, for obvious reasons, Christian Horner could potentially be on the list of seven teams: Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alpine, Audi (Sauber), Cadillac, Haas and Williams. Much will depend on how these teams present themselves at the start of next season, but Horner is in no hurry. He would have had to wait anyway. He has plenty of time to wait and evaluate every kind of opportunity.
Read in the original language (italian): Horner attende e valuta, solo tre squadre lo respingerebbero a priori
Photo: Red Bull Racing
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