Christian Horner return? F1 ‘compromise’ plan teased after $100m Red Bull settlement
Christian Horner attends the premiere of the Brad Pitt F1 movie
A two-headed management team of Christian Horner and Flavio Briatore would represent “a good compromise” for the Alpine F1 outfit.
That is the claim of former Renault and Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who is convinced that the former Red Bull team principal will mount a return to F1 in the near future.
Christian Horner to team up with Flavio Briatore at Alpine?
Horner was sacked by Red Bull after more than 20 years in charge in the aftermath of July’s British Grand Prix, with Laurent Mekies installed as his replacement as team principal and chief executive.
The former Red Bull boss stands as one of the most successful team principals in F1 history having led the team to six Constructors’ titles and eight Drivers’ championships – split evenly between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen – since it arrived on the grid in 2005.
As revealed by PlanetF1.com last week, Horner has officially cut ties with Red Bull after reaching a $100 million (£74.2m/€85.1m) settlement with the team.
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PlanetF1.com understands that the terms of his Red Bull departure mean the 51-year-old will be free to pursue a return to Formula 1 during the F1 2026 season.
It is widely believed that Horner is likely to pursue a team-ownership-style role upon his expected F1 comeback, potentially in a similar position to that held by long-term rival Toto Wolff, who owns a third of the Mercedes team in addition to acting as team principal and chief executive.
PlanetF1.com understands that Horner is in no active discussions to return to F1 with his focus currently on his family.
As previously reported, Horner holidayed in Scotland last week in his first public appearance since agreeing his $100m Red Bull settlement.
With persistent doubts over the long-term commitment of current owner Renault, the Enstone-based Alpine team could emerge as a potential next destination.
Horner is known to have a close relationship with Flavio Briatore, the former Renault F1 team principal who returned to Alpine as an executive adviser last year.
Fisichella speaks with some knowledge of the team, given he enjoyed two separate spells at Enstone over the course of his F1 career, spending four seasons with the then-Benetton team between 1998 and 2001 before rejoining the rebranded Renault squad in 2005.
And the Italian reckons Horner and Briatore could make for an effective partnership at Alpine, claiming the pair would represent “a good compromise.”
He told a betting site: “I think Horner can come back to F1.
“He was a driver first of all and then he was Red Bull’s team principal for 20 years and he won everything. For sure, one of the best team principals in the sport.
“Maybe a mix of Horner and Briatore could be a good compromise!”
Alpine has endured a challenging F1 2025 season with the team currently bottom of the championship, trailing ninth-placed Haas by 24 points with seven rounds remaining.
Briatore’s return to F1 has proven controversial with the 75-year-old thought to have led the decision for Renault to repurpose its historic F1 engine facility in Viry-Chatillon, near Paris, last year.
Alpine will switch to customer Mercedes engines ahead of the F1 2026 season despite Renault’s continued involvement in the sport as majority owners of the Alpine F1 team.
Despite the team’s lacklustre 2025, Fisichella has insisted that Briatore remains “the right man” to turn the situation around.
He added: “I think Briatore is the man.
“I worked with him for many years and we were able to win two Constructors’ and two Drivers’ Championships.”
“Flavio is the right man. I’m quite positive for him and Alpine.
“It’s nice to have different personalities on the grid. Toto Wolff is a fantastic team principal. Also Zak Brown.”
“For Alpine, I feel Briatore is the right man.”
More on Red Bull Racing and Alpine from PlanetF1.com
Briatore played down suggestions that Alpine could make a move for Horner at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix, insisting that the former Red Bull team principal is “not in the picture.”
He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “I’m not considering anything at this moment. And Christian is not in Formula 1 anymore.
“I hope he comes back soon, but for the moment he’s not in the picture at Alpine.”
Appearing alongside Briatore in the team principals’ press conference at Zandvoort, Wolff – who branded Horner an “a**hole” in the aftermath of his Red Bull exit – likened a potential partnership between Briatore, Horner and former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to the mafia.
Asked about the rumours of Horner heading to Alpine, Wolff said: “That would be an exciting story, I guess!
“And would create lots of buzz around Formula 1. I think we need that.
“Formula 1 has always been about the best racing, with exciting drivers and great personalities.
“And I feel that, when you look back at the grand era of team owners and team principals around Frank Williams and Ron Dennis, Flavio, [Luca di] Montezemolo and a few others, that maybe we need to work on that.
“And if there was such an exciting project, these three guys coming together, all of the mafia reunited, that will give good content, I guess.”
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