Follow us on Google Discover Next season will see a host of changes on the track in Formula 1, but it is also expected to see Christian Horner return to the paddock.
Red Bull parted ways with Christian Horner after this season’s British Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen appeared to be edging closer to potentially leaving the team for Mercedes.
Yuki Tsunoda is the latest teammate struggling to perform alongside Verstappen, and Red Bull felt they had to act to avoid their prized driver moving on ahead of F1’s upcoming regulation changes.
Verstappen’s relationship with Laurent Mekies will give Red Bull hope that he’ll continue with the team for the foreseeable future, but it’s led to Horner now being in a position where he could return to Formula 1 with one of the team’s rivals.
Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 650 2 325 3 300 4 290 5 102 6 72 7 66 8 55 9 46 10 20
After Horner agreed to a severance package with Red Bull, he’s been linked with nearly every team on the grid.
Not only that, but there are suggestions that Horner has explored setting up a 12th F1 team to have even more control if and when he returns to the sport.
However, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has been discussing the 51-year-old’s future, and has ruled out one team working alongside him over his financial demands.
READ MORE: All to know on sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesGuenther Steiner thinks Haas would not meet Christian Horner’s financial demands
Steiner was asked on The Red Flags Podcast whether he thinks Horner will be the CEO of Haas next year during their segment, ‘Gas or Brake’.
He replied: “Brake. I mean, we all know now from the reporting how much money Christian made.
“I do not think that Haas will pay him that amount of money, that’s the first thing.
“So, that’s my take on it. I wish I were paid the amount Christian was paid, but I wasn’t.
“It was answered by Ayao [Komatsu], I think, that they had talks, actually, he said. So, they must have had talks, I guess, otherwise he wouldn’t say it.
CHRISTIAN HORNER’S RECORD AS RED BULL F1 TEAM PRINCIPALGrands Prix entered406Wins124Podiums287Pole positions107Points8,009Drivers’ championships8 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)Constructors’ championships6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2023)
“But also, where Christian is coming from, Red Bull is the team with the biggest infrastructure, I would say in Formula 1.
“They make their own engines. I mean, yeah, you could say Audi is the same, but Audi is still young compared with Red Bull, so it’s a completely different thing.
“Obviously, Christian doesn’t go there to participate in F1, and I guess that came out because he talked with somebody at Haas, as it was reported afterwards, and therefore the rumours came out that he’s going there.
“But this is how quickly rumours get legs in Formula 1. You speak with somebody, it’s a fact.”
READ MORE: All to know about Haas F1 Team from team principal to Ferrari and Toyota ties
Why it wouldn’t make sense for Christian Horner to return to Formula 1 with Haas
Haas are the smallest team in Formula 1 right now in terms of their staffing levels, with owner Gene Haas reportedly happy with their standing in the sport.
Team principal Ayao Komatsu has done a brilliant job this year, while Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon have delivered often enough to keep them off the bottom of the constructors’ championship.
It’s believed that Haas won’t meet with Horner again after initial discussions, with Komatsu referencing communication between the two parties during the Singapore Grand Prix.
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“Yeah, it is true that he approached us,” Komatsu explained in his official pre-race media interview.
“Then one of our guys had an exploratory talk. And that’s it. Nothing has gone any further. It is finished.”
Horner is expected to want at least a partial ownership stake in whichever team he joins going forward.
Haas’ recent partnership with Toyota would complicate any outside investment coming in, seemingly shutting off the Banbury-based team as an option going forward.