Christian Horner ‘Convinced’ Ferrari Move Depends on One Key Factor as Scuderia Targets Red Bull’s Ex-Chief.
Christian Horner might not have to wait long to receive offers to return to Formula 1 after Red Bull Racing sacked the Briton from his role as their team principal and CEO.
The parent Red Bull GmbH company informed Horner on Tuesday night that he was stripped of his responsibilities at the Austrian energy drink giant’s F1 team, with the news then made public on Wednesday. Red Bull and Horner are now debating a complete split after 20 years.
Horner is still under contract with Red Bull despite being sidelined from their F1 team, as his deal runs through 2030. Yet it is likely just a matter of time until Horner walks away from the Milton Keynes-based outfit he moulded upon joining in 2005 after Red Bull bought Jaguar.
Horner has told Martin Brundle that Red Bull sacked him without clarifying why, with Racing Bulls chief Laurent Mekies also installed as his replacement. It is thought, however, that Red Bull sacked Horner having grown frustrated by an array of factors – largely their poor results.
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Christian Horner is ‘convinced’ he ‘needs’ to learn Italian to take charge of Ferrari
Horner has left his role as Red Bull’s team principal with the squad just fourth in the 2025 F1 constructors’ championship and facing a 288-point deficit to McLaren after the first 12 of 24 rounds. Max Verstappen is also third in the drivers’ standings and 69 points off Oscar Piastri.
So, Bild reports that Horner is negotiating the complete termination of his contract with Red Bull to potentially open the door for a return to F1 elsewhere. Ferrari approached Horner to discuss him replacing Fred Vasseur earlier this year, yet the Frenchman is safe there for now.
Ferrari might make another move to speak with Horner now that he has been sacked by Red Bull, though. Vasseur is out of contract in Maranello at the end of the 2025 F1 season, while Ferrari CEO John Elkann and Horner have a good relationship which might pave a route now.
But Elkann may have to change Horner’s mind and convince him about a move to Maranello to land his services. Bild also notes that Horner rejected Ferrari’s recent advances to replace Vasseur as he is ‘convinced’ that he ‘needs to master’ the Italian language first to lead them.
Horner also holds reservations about uprooting his young family to move to Maranello with his children, Olivia and Montague George Hector, aged 12 and eight. He is reluctant to take them away from their familiar surroundings, which might block Horner from joining Ferrari.
Ferrari could capitalise on Red Bull sacking Christian Horner as their F1 team principal
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It has even been said that Ferrari see Red Bull firing Horner as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to land the Briton, with the Scuderia also enduring their own troubles this term. While Vasseur may be safe for now, the pride of Italy are the only one of F1’s big four teams without a win.
Horner is Ferrari CEO Elkann’s old obsession, too, having first tried to get him in 2022 before hiring Vasseur. Yet there are suspicions in the F1 paddock that Horner fuelled his recent links to Ferrari to improve his position at Red Bull, with the Briton said to be a leading candidate.
Those suspicions may also explain the reports that emerged claiming alarm bells went off at Red Bull after Ferrari approached Horner. The Scuderia’s supposed interest in the Briton was thought to have been a distraction for Red Bull. So, Mekies will hope he can steady the ship.
