Christian Horner has reportedly approached a Formula One team about a potential return to the sport, but so far, with little success. The former Red Bull team principal, and husband of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, was given a massive £80 million payoff after being abruptly sacked from his long-term role in July 2024.
Since his departure, Horner has been enjoying his time away from the F1 spotlight. He was seen at an Oasis gig at Wembley, where he was booed, and recently embarked on a road trip through the Scottish Highlands with his wife, Geri. Despite this, it has been revealed that Horner misses Formula One and would be permitted to return from 2026.
The 51-year-old has already begun considering his options. Notably, he chose to accept less than the £110 million that would have been available to him; however, taking the higher sum would have prevented him from returning to a job within the sport for several years, according to Daily Mail Sport’s Jonathan McEvoy.
Several teams—including Haas, Alpine, Ferrari, and Aston Martin—have been linked with Horner’s potential return. Aston Martin, in particular, recently recruited Horner’s former Red Bull ally, renowned designer Adrian Newey, after 19 years working together.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu revealed that Horner approached the American team about a role just months after leaving Red Bull. “Yeah, it is true that he approached us,” Komatsu said ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. “One of our guys had an exploratory talk. And that’s it. Nothing has gone any further. It is finished.”
He added, “I’ve got nothing more to say. Like I said, you write whatever you want. I’m not fuelling that story.”
Horner has been strongly linked with a move to Aston Martin to reunite with Newey. However, “Drive to Survive” cult favourite and former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes that the acrimonious relationship between Horner and Newey in the past year makes such a move highly unlikely.
Newey, widely regarded as the greatest Formula 1 designer in history, reportedly asked to leave Red Bull after becoming unsettled by allegations against Horner. These allegations first emerged in February 2024, accusing Horner of acting coercively towards a female employee. Horner has denied any wrongdoing and was twice cleared by King’s Counsel in internal hearings.
Steiner, 60, told Lottoland:
“In the last year, the problem between Adrian and Christian was one of the reasons why Adrian left Red Bull.
So, bringing Christian back, I don’t think that would work at the moment. I don’t think Aston Martin need Christian right now.
I think there was a lot of unhappiness internally, and something had to change. The change was Christian leaving, and they are just trying to go back to their glory days now.
With Red Bull, we could see it during the last one-and-a-half years where every race weekend there was drama, and that has gone away.
I think Aston Martin with the people they have in place are very well set to show what they can do under the new regulations.”
Aston Martin F1 CEO Andy Cowell has, however, refused to rule out a reunion. He said:
“I think Christian has taken some time out at the moment. He’s probably enjoying time with friends and family. He loves the sport though. I wish him well with whatever he ends up doing in the future.
We have got a strong team. We’ve got a strong team with Adrian at the helm of the technical organisation. And we’re growing and building.
I think Christian’s record speaks for itself. He’s a great competitor. I guess it’s down to Christian to work out what he wants to do. I think we’ve got a strong set-up and we’re marching forward with that.”
For now, it remains uncertain whether Christian Horner will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One, but the motorsport world will be watching closely.
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