A two-headed management team of Christian Horner and Flavio Briatore would represent \u201ca good compromise\u201d for the Alpine F1 outfit.<\/p>\n
That is the claim of former Renault and Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who is convinced that the former Red Bull team principal will mount a return to F1 in the near future.<\/p>\n
Christian Horner to team up with Flavio Briatore at Alpine?<\/p>\n
Horner was sacked by Red Bull after more than 20 years in charge in the aftermath of July\u2019s British Grand Prix, with Laurent Mekies installed as his replacement as team principal and chief executive.<\/p>\n
The former Red Bull boss stands as one of the most successful team principals in F1 history having led the team to six Constructors\u2019 titles and eight Drivers\u2019 championships \u2013 split evenly between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen \u2013 since it arrived on the grid in 2005.<\/p>\n
As revealed by PlanetF1.com last week<\/a>, Horner has officially cut ties with Red Bull\u00a0after reaching a $100 million (\u00a374.2m\/\u20ac85.1m) settlement with the team.<\/p>\n Toto Wolff the longest-serving F1 team boss after Christian Horner\u2019s Red Bull exit<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 team principals: How long has each team boss been in charge?<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0How to become an F1 driver: Money, dedication, talent and more<\/a><\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands that the terms of his Red Bull departure mean the 51-year-old will be free to pursue a return to Formula 1 during the F1 2026 season.<\/p>\n It is widely believed that Horner is likely to pursue a team-ownership-style role upon his expected F1 comeback, potentially in a similar position to that held by long-term rival Toto Wolff, who owns a third of the Mercedes team in addition to acting as team principal and chief executive.<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands that Horner is in no active discussions to return to F1 with his focus currently on his family.<\/p>\n As previously reported<\/a>, Horner holidayed in Scotland last week in his first public appearance since agreeing his $100m Red Bull settlement.<\/p>\n With persistent doubts over the long-term commitment of current owner Renault, the Enstone-based Alpine team could emerge as a potential next destination.<\/p>\n Horner is known to have a close relationship with Flavio Briatore, the former Renault F1 team principal who returned to Alpine as an executive adviser last year.<\/p>\n Fisichella speaks with some knowledge of the team, given he enjoyed two separate spells at Enstone over the course of his F1 career, spending four seasons with the then-Benetton team between 1998 and 2001 before rejoining the rebranded Renault squad in 2005.<\/p>\n And the Italian reckons Horner and Briatore could make for an effective partnership at Alpine, claiming the pair would represent \u201ca good compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n He told a betting site:\u00a0\u201cI think Horner can come back to F1.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a driver first of all and then he was Red Bull\u2019s team principal for 20 years and he won everything. For sure, one of the best team principals in the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe a mix of Horner and Briatore could be a good compromise!\u201d<\/p>\n Alpine has endured a challenging F1 2025 season with the team currently bottom of the championship, trailing ninth-placed Haas by 24 points with seven rounds remaining.<\/p>\n Briatore\u2019s return to F1 has proven controversial with the 75-year-old thought to have led the decision for Renault to repurpose its historic F1 engine facility in Viry-Chatillon, near Paris, last year.<\/p>\n Alpine will switch to customer Mercedes engines ahead of the F1 2026 season despite Renault\u2019s continued involvement in the sport as majority owners of the Alpine F1 team.<\/p>\n Despite the team\u2019s lacklustre 2025, Fisichella has insisted that Briatore remains \u201cthe right man\u201d to turn the situation around.<\/p>\n He added:\u00a0\u201cI think Briatore is the man.<\/p>\n \u201cI worked with him for many years and we were able to win two Constructors\u2019 and two Drivers\u2019 Championships.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFlavio is the right man. I\u2019m quite positive for him and Alpine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have different personalities on the grid. Toto Wolff is a fantastic team principal. Also Zak Brown.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor Alpine, I feel Briatore is the right man.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Red Bull Racing and Alpine from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Red Bull news<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Alpine news<\/a><\/p>\n