Christian Horner addresses Ferrari F1 return comments and Vasseur

Christian Horner has seemingly poured cold water on the idea of returning to Formula 1 with Ferrari, after his recent comments got “taken out of context”.

The former Red Bull team boss had described Ferrari as the “dream” job at a time when the Scuderia had also moved to hush speculation over Fred Vasseur’s future. Horner has now clarified that Ferrari would not give him the team “ownership” which he requires to make a Formula 1 comeback happen.

Vasseur doing ‘decent’ as Christian Horner rules out Ferrari

Speaking with The Times, Horner had suggested that while owning a stake in a team was his requirement, Ferrari was the only exception.

As Horner dropped that tease, the noise grew louder over Vasseur’s future as Ferrari team principal, making this a major talking point over the Azerbaijan Grand Prix race weekend. Sources indicated to PlanetF1.com that he could be eased out of his role at the end of the F1 2026 season.

The Scuderia’s chief communication officer, Maria Conti, in a hastily arranged press conference, insisted that the team has “full confidence” in Vasseur.

However, it would seem that Horner is not in the frame to take the helm at Ferrari.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Horner, while stressing he knows the pressures that come with such a position “more than anyone”, clarified that his comments were taken “out of context”.

Ferrari is not an exception to his Formula 1 return criteria after all.

The Brit also affirmed that he would only return to the sport for the ideal opportunity, not any chance he gets.

He was dismissed by Red Bull following the 2025 British Grand Prix, after two decades in charge.

“Fred Vasseur is an experienced guy. He’s done a decent job. But I, more than anyone, know the pressures of running a competitive organisation,” said Horner.

“My comments got taken out of context.

“Ferrari is the biggest brand in F1. It’s the most historic team. But I’ve accumulated some phenomenal capital behind me, to look at the next move I potentially make in the sport. That would be with ownership attached to it, and Ferrari aren’t going to sell shares.

“So I’m happy to sit outside the sport and see what opportunities present themselves over the coming months or years.

“It’s not a prerequisite that I go back. I would only return for the right opportunity with like-minded people that want to win. I would never go back just to take part.”

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Asked what he might be doing 10 years from now, Horner quipped: “I’m looking forward to finding out. It could be at a racetrack, it could be sitting on a tractor.”

He added: “I know my strength is getting a group of people across different skill sets to work as a team. That’s possibly applicable to other things but, at the moment, the only thing that really motivates and excites me is Formula 1.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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