Christian Horner has met with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem during a visit to Paris.

The former Red Bull Racing CEO and team boss paid a visit to the FIA’s offices in Paris on Wednesday.

Christian Horner meets with FIA President

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Horner has maintained a low presence since the conclusion of his working relationship with Red Bull following a 20-year tenure that saw him transform the former Jaguar team into a multiple World Championship-winning organisation.

That relationship came to an abrupt end in the summer of 2025, with the team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, opting to part ways with Horner, leaving the British executive on the sidelines of the sport for the time being.

Aside from occasional and sporadic social media posts, Horner has maintained a veil of silence since the split as he evaluates his options about a possible return to the sport.

In late 2025, Horner set tongues wagging as he met with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and McLaren boss Zak Brown for a social dinner in London, and, ahead of the new F1 season, Horner has met up with Ben Sulayem once again.

The FIA President shared images on his own social media channels of him warmly greeting the former Red Bull boss outside the Paris offices of the governing body, with Ben Sulayem splitting his office time between the Paris and Zurich headquarters of the FIA.

“Wonderful to welcome Christian Horner to the FIA Paris offices today,” Ben Sulayem wrote, “Good to see you, my friend.”

PlanetF1.com understands the meeting was not with an eye to business, but was merely a social call, as Horner is in Paris to attend the Retromobile classic and vintage car show, which celebrates its 50th anniversary event this week in the city, running until February 1st.

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However, Horner’s visit to Paris coincides with renewed speculation about his F1 future, with him understood to be able to pursue a new challenge in the sport from this summer, as per the arrangements of his severance agreement with Red Bull.

Alpine, whose parent company Renault is based in Paris, has become the frontrunning contender for a possible link-up with Horner, and, just days before his Paris trip, Alpine confirmed that there has been interest from investors, including Horner, about a potential purchase of the share currently held by Otro Capital.

As previously reported by PlanetF1.com, Otro Capital’s 24 per cent share does include some caveats on when the investment group can voluntarily part with its shares, with a sale to a third party only permissible “after the date which is three (3) years after the date of adoption of these articles.”

With the documentation dated September 13th, 2023, this would suggest that any potential sale of this minority shareholding in the Alpine F1 team cannot be made until September 2026, and that a potential sale before this time can “only proceed with the approval of Renault”.

With Renault having first refusal on the shares, the question is whether Horner is negotiating with Otro Capital, which is headquartered in New York, where he visited in late 2025, or with Renault in Paris.

A statement from Alpine this week clarified that Otro Capital has held “preliminary talks to sell its stake”, with the valuation of teams increasing, leading to a multitude of interested parties.

“⁠The team is regularly approached and contacted by potential investors, particularly given Otro Capital declared exploratory talks have taken place,” Alpine said.

“⁠One of those parties to express an interest is a group of investors, which also includes Christian Horner.

“⁠Any approaches or discussions are with the existing shareholders, Otro Capital (24%) and Renault Group (76%), not directly with Flavio Briatore or the team.”

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