Christian Horner Reportedly Itching For F1 Comeback, Cold-Calls Teams After Red Bull Firing
Are there any good fits for him?
It's got to be a weird feeling to be on the proverbial beach after 20 years of working at the same place, but that's the situation that former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner finds himself in now.
And, according to another team boss, he's using every connection he has to work his way back onto the grid.
Horner's record of 8 world titles speaks for itself, but he's been a controversial figure around the paddock over the last few years. Just before the summer break, Horner was somewhat suddenly let go amid some underperformance from the team. Now, under the leadership of new boss Laurent Mekies, the team looks much better, and four-time reigning champ Max Verstappen even looks to be back in title contention.
But Horner wants to return to Formula 1, and Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell revealed that the ex-Red Bull boss has been making a lot of phone calls.
"I had a chat with Lawrence (Stroll, Aston Martin owner) this morning to find out what he knows. It looks as though Christian’s ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment," Cowell said, per the Associated Press.
"I can clearly say there are no plans for involvement of Christian either in an operational or investment role in the future."
Well, well, well… now this is intriguing.
Christian Horner appears to want to get back to action in Formula 1, but are there any good landing spots for him? (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
On one hand, it's easy to wonder why teams wouldn't be running all over trying to sign a leader as successful as Horner. But, on the other hand, he seems like the kind of guy who would want — and frankly deserves — a lot of control of the team.
Handing him the keys could destabilize a team. Look no further than Alpine to see how leadership instability (and, in fairness, the weakest power unit on the grid) can impact a team.
Aston Martin not being interested makes a ton of sense. They signed former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey a couple of years ago after he left, while Horner was still in charge. Plus, they don't need the kind of leadership overhaul that Horner would bring.
Neither does Sauber (which has its ducks in a row to become Audi next season), Haas seems to be doing okay, Williams is trending in the right direction, while Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren all seem to be doing just fine.
Obviously, Horner wouldn't return to Red Bull or its sister team Racing Bulls, which leaves… the aforementioned Alpine.
That's the only team that makes sense to me, and now might actually be the right time to bring Horner in ahead of new regulations and the team's switch to Mercedes power units.
Will they go that direction? Beats me, but all I can say is that just for the sake of science, I'd like to see what happens to a team with a Flavio Briatore/Christian Horner braintrust.
That, kids, would be fascinating to watch.