Christian Horner's F1 return: Where next after Red Bull exit?

With Christian Horner present escaped to instrumentality to Formula 1 successful 2026, speculation astir his adjacent landing spot is rife.

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix Aston Martin squad brag Andy Cowell said the erstwhile Red Bull brag is "ringing up beauteous overmuch each squad owner" to enquire astir however to return.

Horner has agreed a $100 cardinal settlement with Red Bull which volition let him backmost successful the paddock arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent spring.

Sources person told ESPN helium does not simply privation a repetition of his erstwhile relation arsenic squad main and CEO, with powerfulness implicit the F1 squad but yet nary involvement successful the concern astatine large. It is understood Horner is seeking concern partners who mightiness assistance him bargain the benignant of involvement successful a squad which would instrumentality him to a important relation of powerfulness successful the paddock.

Although it seems though he's spreading the nett acold and wide, genuine options for him look limited. Here we've ranked the likelihood of him returning to immoderate of the non-Red Bull owned teams adjacent year.

- Horner's 20-year Red Bull vocation - successful pictures

Alpine

This seems similar Horner's champion stake by immoderate region -- if you were to instrumentality a straw canvass successful the paddock, they would beryllium the wide frontrunner close now. Well-placed paddock sources person told ESPN this seems to beryllium the astir logical prime and there's a fig of reasons why. Alpine, the sanction Renault rebranded its F1 squad to successful 2021, has had nary wide vision, absorption oregon individuality for respective years now, and is screaming retired for a beardown enactment fig to physique around.

Perhaps the astir poorly-run squad successful the sport's caller history, it looks acceptable to decorativeness bottommost of the constructors' title this season, the last twelvemonth it volition contention with Renault-built engines earlier switching to a Mercedes woody adjacent year.

The controversial, once-banned-for-life Flavio Briatore, a bully person of Horner's, returned to the squad successful an enforcement capableness past twelvemonth to assistance facilitate that deal. At the clip of his return, galore successful the paddock believed Briatore was brought backmost to assistance merchantability the squad altogether, though caller Renault CEO François Provost has insisted that volition not beryllium happening immoderate clip soon. That does not regularisation retired investments for different bits of the business, however, and this is thing Alpine has welcomed before.

In 2023, Alpine took a $218.10 cardinal currency injection from a consortium including Rory McIlroy, Patrick Mahomes and Anthony Joshua, for a 24% equity involvement successful the business. With F1 booming successful popularity, sources successful F1 person estimated that consortium could marque upwards of a 50% nett connected that concern if they sold it today.

Teams are regularly present valued successful excess of $1.5 billion. Alpine is known to beryllium unfastened to much extracurricular investment, adjacent if a afloat merchantability is disconnected the array for now. Alpine follows the increasing inclination successful the athletics of having a squad main (Steve Nielsen) who runs the F1 team, and past an overarching enforcement brag (Briatore) above. This seems similar a cleanable strategy for Horner to acceptable into successful immoderate mode should helium unafraid the funds needed to bargain a important information of the team.

Given the beardown existing narration with Briatore, a willingness from Alpine to instrumentality extracurricular investment, and a squad desperately needing the cache and pedigree idiosyncratic similar Horner could bring to the table, this ticks each the boxes.

There's a amusive added constituent present too, 1 modern fans mightiness person a hard clip picturing. Horner taking a important relation astatine Alpine would make a fascinating dynamic - it would spot him successful a moving narration with Mercedes brag Toto Wolff, arsenic portion of Alpine's caller motor deal. Their frosty narration is well-documented. That doesn't diminish the accidental of it happening, however, with Wolff having nary accidental successful whether Renault's committee accepted an concern oregon not.

Likelihood: 9/10 - Horner's mo...