Christian Horner is understood to be in advanced negotiations with Alpine over purchasing a stake in the team, leading a business consortium. The 52-year-old is working to capitalise on perhaps his best opportunity to make a return to Formula 1.
Since being replaced as Red Bull team principal, Horner has spoken with many teams about a potential comeback. Most outfits across the grid, such as Aston Martin, have already opted against reaching an agreement with the Briton.
At Alpine, however, genuine dialogue has been ongoing for some time. The Enstone squad are seriously considering Horner’s proposal – which could put him in a position of decisive control over operations.
Christian Horne ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Horner in talks for influential role at Alpine
The details of Horner’s Red Bull fallout are extensive and still being pieced together. Many of the discussions and disagreements that took place behind closes doors have not become public knowledge.
Regardless, there are some relatively well-established facts about the 52-year-old’s exit from Milton Keynes. Perhaps the most relevant is that, for various reasons, the allegations surrounding his conduct triggered significant tensions within the team.
The public calls from Jos Verstappen for Horner to resign, alongside departures of key personnel like Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, were evidence of the power struggle taking place at Red Bull in early 2024. Indeed, these tensions persisted into last year’s campaign.
According to Helmut Marko, Horner’s intention was to increase his control over the team. Whilst this claim is impossible to verify in its entirety, it is clear Red Bull did not see a future with Horner at the helm – hence the appointment of Laurent Mekies.
Looking ahead, there can be no doubts the former Red Bull team principal is poised for an F1 return.
According to multiple outlets, most recently AMuS, Christian Horner is in advanced negotiations with Alpine. This has been the case for some time, with a combination of factors creating the ideal conditions for a potential agreement.
The first factor is Alpine’s lack of success and instability in recent seasons. The French team continues to consider new solutions and managerial structures to remedy their on-track results.
Considering that previous team principals like Cyril Abiteboul or Marcin Budkowski were fired after securing top 5 finishes, it can hardly be a surprise that Renault are willing to entertain big leadership changes after finishing 2025 in last place.
Horner brings a consortium of investors to the table, who could buy a 24% stake in the team – though potentially more. Horner is keen to see this package go through, since ownership of shares it would give him more influence than the average team principal.
In many ways, it would give the 52-year-old a comparable level of involvement to what Toto Wolff has at Mercedes. Regardless, putting this comparison to one side, Alpine are now a realistic destination for the former Red Bull boss.
Alpine are not shy about making changes at the highest level. Flavio Briatore’s appointment to the role of Executive Advisor in 2024 was evidence of their tolerance for change. Given Horner’s winning record, his presence at Alpine would be seen as a positive from a performance standpoint.
Of course, other factors are at play.
Franco Colapinto leads Pierre Gasly in Monza, Alpine F1 Media Gallery.
Another transitional phase for Alpine?
There have been question marks about Renault’s commitment to Formula 1 for some time. The team’s 2021 rebrand from Renault to Alpine was perceived as an early indication that the French manufacturer’s long-term plans were dubious.
Alpine’s move to sell a 24% stake to various investors in 2023, again, suggested a reluctance from Renault to invest in it’s F1 project – instead turning to revenue external sources. This trend of managed retreat continued with the move to become a Mercedes customer team for 2026 onwards.
With this in mind, the financial package Christian Horner brings to the table could be persuasive. Most reports agree that Horner has raised in excess of £600 million, which could be sufficient for majority control.
Again, it must be stressed nothing is concrete at this stage. It remains to be seen if Alpine is truly prepared to relinquish a substantial part of it’s shares.
Still, it would be a mistake to overlook Horner’s advances towards the French team as purely speculative. There is genuine interest on both sides, and it would not be a shock to see an ownership comfortable with routinely changing team principals give up control over a project that has consistently failed to realise its objectives.
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Main photo: Jörg Mitter (Red Bull Content Pool)