Speculation that Christian Horner could be the next man in charge at Alpine continues, with Ralf Schumacher proclaiming the \u201ctime of figures like Flavio Briatore is over\u201d.<\/p>\n
Horner was sacked by Red Bull last month, bringing his 20-year tenure to an abrupt end, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies installed as his replacement as CEO and team principal.<\/p>\n
Could Christian Horner take over at Alpine?<\/p>\n
\u201cRed Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today (Wednesday 9 July 2025) and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n
According to reports, Horner was left in the dark as to why he was unceremoniously sacked, although Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko put it down to \u201cvarious factors, but above all, the performance wasn\u2019t quite as good as it could have been\u201d.<\/p>\n
But as the Belgian Grand Prix marked Horner\u2019s first race in more than 20 years where he was not sitting on the Red Bull pit wall, swapping one horsepower for another \u201chorse power\u201d that Sunday<\/a>, the Briton was already being linked to a return to the paddock with Alpine.<\/p>\n In and out of Formula 1 in various guises, Renault currently runs its Formula 1 team under the Alpine branding, but as of next season, Alpine will no longer be a works outfit.<\/p>\n Briatore and Renault\u2019s higher-ups made the call to scrap Renault\u2019s F1 engine project after a disappointing run of results and instead sign up with Mercedes for F1 2026.<\/p>\n That, it was suggested, was the first huge sign that Renault could sell its Formula 1 team.<\/p>\n But while Renault bosses repeatedly denied this, fresh speculation has Horner returning to the grid by buying a stake in the Alpine F1 team<\/a>.<\/p>\n Analysis: Christian Horner sacked by Red Bull<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Why Christian Horner\u2019s shock firing from Red Bull won\u2019t be felt immediately<\/a><\/p>\n