It seems as though Christian Horner is calling almost every team boss at the moment, but the options for 2026 are dwindling – where the Brit has not yet made contact
Three months after his surprise departure from Red Bull, former team boss Christian Horner still hasn’t found an alternative for 2026, even though he has already been in talks with several Formula 1 teams, as Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu recently revealed.
“It looks like Christian is calling pretty much every team boss at the moment,” smiled Aston Martin CEO and team boss Andy Cowell last weekend in Singapore. However, Cowell did not want to reveal whether the 51-year-old Brit had also contacted him.
On Thursday, the Aston Martin boss had remained conspicuously tight-lipped about a possible move by Horner, but he made his position clear at the team principal press conference: “I can say clearly that there are no plans for Christian to be involved in the future, either in an operational or investment role,” Cowell clarified.
What is not currently the case could still happen at some point, but the door does not seem to be wide open for Horner at the moment. After Cadillac and Haas, the next option for the long-time Red Bull team boss is already threatening to vanish into thin air.
Horner had no contact with Williams
And what else? Williams team boss James Vowles revealed in Singapore that Horner had not yet contacted him. However, the Briton is basically open to talks. “I think you should always welcome a conversation. There’s no reason to close the door,” said Vowles.
However, before new rumors about Horner moving to Williams could start to spread, the 46-year-old immediately put the brakes on. “I believe—no, I know—that we are very happy with the structure we have, and it works,” emphasized the Williams team boss. “Therefore, I see no reason to change anything.”
That leaves almost only Alpine. Has Horner already made contact there? “As far as I know, no, but Flavio [Briatore] and Christian are old friends, that’s no secret,” explained the new Alpine CEO Steve Nielsen. “I don’t know what they talked about.”
“But from everything I see and know, there is no truth in the rumor that Christian is coming to Alpine,” added the 61-year-old, without putting a definitive end to the matter: “That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen—this is Formula 1, after all.” And so the Horner rumors will continue for now…
