When Christian Horner was relieved from his duties as team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, it came as a shock to many, even after all that transpired just over a year ago. The man who was at the helm of the team from the very beginning was suddenly no longer a part of their plans after 20 years together.
Rumors swirled instantly regarding which team Horner may join next, but concrete possibilities have now come to light in recent weeks. The Brit has been strongly linked to joining Ferrari should they choose to move on from Fred Vasseur.
But there are several factors that may hold Ferrari back from considering Horner seriously. During his tenure at Red Bull, he had considerable control and oversight, more than the typical team principal. John Elkann may be hesitant to give him such power at Ferrari, as it may put the team further in a hole if it ever comes time to move on from him.
Horner has a viable backup option as well
The 51-year-old could look to join Haas and eventually turn them into one of the top teams in Formula 1. Ayao Komatsu recently confirmed that Horner approached the team over a potential role and that a team representative spoke to the former Red Bull boss.
The Haas team boss insists that talks did not go further than a simple exploratory conversation. If Horner were to push forward with joining Haas, odds are he would want to become a shareholder of the team, similar to Toto Wolff with Mercedes. However, Gene Haas would be hesitant to receive investments from external parties.
Taking sizable control of Haas and turning them into contenders would be quite a big challenge for Horner. But he would have the time to put his efforts into another project. At the moment, it does not seem like Haas are ready to put that level of faith into Horner, especially as Komatsu has done a tremendous job since taking over in 2024.
The main issue for Horner getting back into Formula 1 is his desire for control. While the entire Red Bull framework was built by him and around him, not every team would be willing to give him what he wants, especially Ferrari.