After 20 years with Red Bull, Christian Horner had to leave, but a former Formula 1 driver expects him to make a comeback – just not right away
Former Formula 1 driver Robert Doornbos expects long-time team boss Christian Horner to make a comeback – but not for “a few years.”
Horner was dismissed in July after 20 years at Red Bull and replaced by former Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies. Shortly afterwards, Max Verstappen confirmed that he would remain with Red Bull for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
As things stand, Horner will not be involved in Formula 1. But Doornbos believes a return is likely. Speaking to Motorsport.com Netherlands, Doornbos said: “Christian is only 51 years old, but has 20 years of experience as team principal and managing director at one of the biggest brands in the world. His success speaks for itself.”
What Horner always lacked at Red Bull
With Horner at the helm of the Formula 1 team, Red Bull has repeatedly achieved outstanding success: From 2010 to 2013, the energy drink brand won the world championship four times in a row with Sebastian Vettel, and from 2021 to 2023, it won four times in a row with Max Verstappen. Red Bull is already the fourth most successful team in terms of victories.
But according to Doornbos, there has always been one thing that Horner has not achieved at Red Bull: “Ownership – what Lawrence Stroll or Toto Wolff have. You want to own shares in the team, and there are very few teams where that is possible.”
Doornbos himself can only think of Alpine. “That’s the kind of team that could get into big trouble at some point and say, ‘We don’t know what to do anymore’ – and Flavio Briatore won’t be around forever,” explains Doornbos.
“Christian could say, ‘This is exactly the right project. I’ll take it over, but I want shares, and we’ll make it great again.’”
Horner isn’t moving to Ferrari, but…
Alpine has won the Formula 1 World Championship several times in the past, both as a Renault factory team and before that as a private team called Benetton: in 1994/95 with Michael Schumacher and in 2005/06 with Fernando Alonso. This team could put Horner back on the road to success.
At least Horner won’t be joining Ferrari in the next few years: the traditional Formula 1 team recently extended the contract of team boss Frederic Vasseur.
Perhaps this is also because Horner has turned down the offer, as Doornbos suspects: “In my opinion, Christian is firmly rooted in England. You don’t just move to Maranello with your whole family.”
Or will Mercedes team boss Wolff’s jokingly expressed fear come true and Horner join the International Automobile Federation (FIA)? Doornbos doesn’t think so: “I don’t see him coming back in an FIA role. But I do believe he will try his hand at team boss again.” The only question is: with which team?
