Christian Horner has held talks with several Formula 1 teams over a potential return to the paddock following the confirmation of his Red Bull exit last week, and former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese thinks he could persuade Max Verstappen to join him at a certain constructor.
Buying a stake in an F1 team is crucial for Horner’s comeback plans as he eyes a return to the grid at the earliest opportunity, which, through one of the terms in his Red Bull exit, will be during the summer break of the 2026 F1 season.
Horner has been turned down by Haas already, with team principal Ayao Komatsu revealing that negotiations have “finished” after the 51-year-old approached the team over a possible deal.
Alpine is also looking like an unlikely option for Horner due to his past history with the parent company of the Enstone-based team, Renault. The French manufacturer’s engine collaboration with Red Bull ended bitterly after Horner publicly blasted the performance of Renault’s power units.
All signs are pointing towards Horner laying roots at the 568-point F1 team Aston Martin, who currently tick all the boxes for the sort of project the British executive is interested in.
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Riccardo Patrese thinks Christian Horner could persuade Max Verstappen to create a “new Red Bull” at Aston Martin
The owner of the Silverstone-based outfit, Lawrence Stroll, is currently on the hunt for investors, which perfectly coincides with the capacity that Horner wants to make a return to the grid.
Paired with the fact that star Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has been linked with Aston Martin in the current campaign already, six-time Grand Prix winner Riccardo Patrese believes the former partnership of Horner and the four-time world champion could reunite at the British constructor.
Speaking to The Escapist, the former F1 driver said, “The Aston Martin speculation with Christian Horner reminds me of when Michael Schumacher left Benetton and went to Ferrari.
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
“He took all the best pieces from Benetton to go to Ferrari to build a winning team and then become a world champion. Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, all these guys that were Benetton with him, and he took them to Ferrari, and then they built a team where he was five times world champion.”
“I can see a similar situation happening with Verstappen. They talk for sure. If this is what he thinks could happen, probably yes, Horner could certainly go there and make a new Red Bull team at Aston Martin!”
Verstappen currently has a contract at Red Bull until 2028, but the Dutchman has made his feelings clear that he will depart the team at the end of 2026 if the Austrian constructors’ new F1 car isn’t able to challenge for another world title.
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Red Bull have returned to winning ways for the first time since Christian Horner’s departure
Red Bull have experienced an extremely volatile year in 2025. Driver changes have come to be expected at the stable, but the team’s decision to remove Horner from his 20-year-long post as team principal served as one of the biggest shocks of the season.
Laurent Mekies stepped in as the man to replace the long-serving head of the team and has managed to turn around their downward trajectory into a position where Verstappen could challenge McLaren for the drivers’ title.
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Back-to-back wins for the Dutchman at Monza and Baku have seen him move up to within 69 points of championship leader Oscar Piastri.
With seven rounds remaining of the 2025 season, including the Singapore Grand Prix, there is the possibility of him causing a massive upset, but he needs a swathe of results to go in his favour first.
As well as the differences on the racetrack, Jos Verstappen has noticed differences behind the scenes, too.
The father of the four-time world champion noted that team personnel are having fun in their jobs again, in what can be perceived as a slight to his long-time nemesis, Horner.