Christian Horner 2026 return with one F1 team ruled out by former Red Bull colleague

All eyes in the Formula 1 world will be keeping a close eye on what Christian Horner decides to do next, now he is officially no longer a Red Bull Racing employee. The 51-year-old has agreed a settlement with the team he led for 20 years which is believed to have made him around £80million richer.

Crucially, it has also provided some clarity in terms of when we might see him back in the F1 paddock. It is understood Horner, under the terms of that agreement, will have to observe a period of gardening leave but will be free to join another outfit at some point next year, though the exact end date of that enforced absence is not currently public knowledge.

Naturally, he has been linked with several different teams already. Ferrari have courted Horner before and so it stands to reason they could revive their interest if they decide to look for a new leader next year. Alpine have been floated as a possible landing place, while Haas is another midfield team that Horner is said to be considering as a potential option.

Another rumoured future employer is Aston Martin, who have been ambitious in their recruitment and it has been suggested that billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll might take the chance to try to bring Horner on board.

Such an outcome would see him work again with Adrian Newey, who left Red Bull for Aston Martin, departing his former team a few months after the personal scandal that embroiled Horner and the team when a female colleague accused him of inappropriate behaviour - an allegation he denied and of which he was cleared by an independent investigator hired by Red Bull.

For that reason, Guenther Steiner does not expect to see Horner make a comeback to F1 with Aston Martin. The former Haas team principal, who worked with Horner at Red Bull during the team's early days on the grid back in 2005, pointed at that potentially strained relationship with Newey as a roadblock stopping such an outcome from happening.

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"I don't think Aston Martin need Christian right now," he told Lottoland. "I think there was a lot of unhappiness internally[ at Red Bull] and something had to change. The change was Christian leaving, and they are just trying to go back to their glory days now.

"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. 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."

Horner has been succeeded at Red Bull by Laurent Mekies, who Steiner believes has made a strong start to life in charge of the team after back-to-back victories for Max Verstappen in Monza and Baku. He added: "Jumping to the conclusion that the two last wins were because Christian left, I mean, I respect Laurent, and Laurent is a friend, he's doing a good job."