Christian Horner’s departure from Red Bull has left “big footsteps” at the F1 team, says Sebastian Vettel.
Horner was relieved of his duties as F1 CEO and team principal at Red Bull in July and officially left the company in September, after agreeing a payoff in the region of £80m.
The British executive led Red Bull to six constructors’ and eight drivers’ titles over 20 years at the helm, but fell out with sections of senior management towards the end of his tenure.
Vettel, the four-time F1 world champion who won all of his titles under Horner’s leadership from 2010-2013, retired in 2022 but has made sporadic appearances in the paddock since and was present at the Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 for his reaction to Horner’s exit over the summer, the German replied: “Surprised. I mean, Christian has been there for so long, since the very beginning and knows this team inside out.
"I think for this year, everything was in place. I know Laurent [Mekies] as well, the successor, and I've worked with him, and he's a really great person.
"But I think Christian left some big footsteps, not just because of all the success he's had with the team, but also, I think he was such a central part of the team, knew what was going on and so on.
"I'm not completely aware of the organisation, the structure, and especially the plan for the future, but that's where I think it's valid to say, let's wait and see how it turns out."
Horner can return to F1 early next year and has been linked with a move to Alpine, Haas, Ferrari and Aston Martin. Rumours of the 51-year-old launching a 12th team with substantial financial backing have also surfaced.
F1 pundit Martin Brundle has noted that Horner would only return to the sport if he can obtain a share in the team.
"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 last month’s 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.
