Christian Horner to Ferrari shut down with likelier F1 return named due to Adrian Newey

The chances of Christian Horner joining Ferrari have been dismissed because of Adrian Newey's new role with Aston Martin. Horner's tenure as Red Bull team principal was dramatically halted this week, ending a 20-year chapter in charge of a team he led to 14 world championships.

Red Bull's parent company, Red Bull GmbH, announced that it had released Horner with immediate effect but did not state a reason for his exit. His departure came 17 months after he was accused by a female staff member of "inappropriate behaviour". Horner always denied the claims and was twice exonerated. The 51-year-old is widely expected to return to the F1 paddock at some stage, with a potential blockbuster move to Ferrari being mooted.

Horner has been linked to Ferrari on more than one occasion, reportedly holding talks with the Italian brand's chairman, John Elkann, back in 2022. Ferrari instead hired Fred Vasseur, who is under mounting pressure following the team's poor first half of the F1 season.

That led to Horner-to-Ferrari chatter re-emerging earlier this summer. However, the chances of Horner relocating to Italy have been branded unlikely by Sky Sports pundit and former F1 driver Karun Chandhok, who reckons Ferrari would have preferred a Horner-Newey double act.

Newey was courted by Ferrari following his decision to quit Red Bull last year amid growing tension with Horner. However, he instead joined Aston as a managing technical partner and acquired a stake in the Silverstone-based team.

Speaking on the Chandhok said: "I think the combination of Horner and Newey was a much more attractive package for Ferrari."

Chandhok believes a move to Alpine, where Horner's friend Flavio Briatore runs the team as executive advisor, is more likely, despite the Renault-owned team currently sitting at the bottom of the constructors' standings. He added: "I can see him landing at Alpine more than I can see him landing at Ferrari.

"At his stage in life, does he want to uproot everything? The commute to Enstone (where Alpine are based) is pretty much the same as the one to Milton Keynes (Red Bull's base)."

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Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz agreed, saying: "With his family, with his three kids, does he really want to uproot them? Does he want to live in Italy by himself? For that personal reason first and, secondly, he maybe saw the job, as a non-Italian speaker, too steep a hill to climb.

"Much better if he thought Alpine was an option, another British-based team with Flavio there, with a team that's very like Red Bull. A lot of people in Entone are ex-Red Bull and vice- versa. That would be a much easier place for him to go.

"The Ferrari option, as tempting as it might have been, especially a few months ago, knowing what was going to happen (with his Red Bull exit)... but I think he'd already made his mind up not to do Ferrari and if Alpine is an option, that's a much better way to go."

Martin Brundle can also see Horner at Alpine but believes he will want more than a team principal role. The Sky Sports commentator said: "I think Christian will be desperate to get a stake in a team going forward and have some ownership rather than be a hired hand. He obviously won't be able to do that (ownership) at Ferrari, as entertaining as that job might be."