Christian Horner will only return to Formula One if he can obtain a share in a team, says close friend and F1 pundit Martin Brundle.
Horner was relieved of his duties as Red Bull F1 team principal in July after 20 years and 14 world titles at the team he built from the bottom up. He officially left last month, having received an £80m pay-off.
As part of his settlement, it is believed the 51-year-old can return to the sport next spring and Horner is keen on a role back in the paddock. The British executive has been linked with the likes of Alpine, Haas, Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Yet close confidante Brundle, one of F1’s most respected pundits who works for Sky Sports, stated the key condition that has to be met for Horner to return to F1.
"I think the current teams in Formula 1 will be pushing hard, as will other stakeholders, to say they don't want a 12th team in Formula 1 at the moment while they're all jockeying around trying to sort the 2026 regulations out,” Brundle explained at the last race in Singapore.
"That might be an extra hurdle for Christian. Formula 1 is his life – that's where his skills and experience lie.
“He made it absolutely clear to me when I spoke to him that he will only come back if he's got a skin in the game, if he's got a share in the team and is building something, rather than being a manager as he was with Red Bull.
"He couldn't get any shareholding in that. Toto Wolff is a good example of how to do that as a one-third shareholder in the Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 team.
“I'm sure there'll be partners, as we like to call them, sponsors we might call them, and other people who might want to join Christian on that journey."
Horner lost his job at Red Bull after losing out in a power struggle where, ultimately, he lost the support of all Red Bull shareholders as well as the key group of people in the camp of star driver Max Verstappen, highlighted by the public falling out with his father, Jos, last year.
Alpine seems to be the most likely destination for Horner, given they are based close to his home in Oxfordshire and are led by a close friend in Flavio Briatore.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted in Singapore that Horner approached the American-owned team about a role, but talks didn’t progress and are now “finished.”
Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell, meanwhile, said that Horner is “ringing up pretty much every team owner” in search of a return to the paddock.
"I can clearly say there are no plans for the involvement of Christian in an operational or investment role in the future,” Cowell added.
Horner has also long been linked with an illustrious move to Ferrari, but team principal Fred Vasseur signed a contract extension in July. That being said, Vasseur is under pressure, having not claimed a victory yet this season and Ferrari chairman John Elkann is a known admirer of Horner.
The start of next season, with new engine and chassis regulations, will be critical for Vasseur and Ferrari, who are yet to give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a car which is capable of regularly challenging McLaren at the top of the sport.
The next F1 race this season is the United States Grand Prix (17-19 October) in Austin, Texas.
