Audi urged to sign Christian Horner after shock Wheatley departure
Photo: Race Pictures
21:01, 25 Mar
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has said Audi should look to recruit Christian Horner following the surprise departure of team principal Jonathan Wheatley last week.
Wheatley has been widely tipped for a move to Aston Martin to reunite with former Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey, who will reportedly focus more heavily on technical matters following a tough stint as team principal in 2026.
Aston Martin and Alpine have been the two teams most closely linked with Horner's return ever since his dismissal from Red Bull in July 2025, and with options seemingly slim, Montoya thinks Audi should go after the 52-year-old.
Horner 'can deliver' for Audi, says Montoya
Photo: Race Pictures
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Speaking to talkSPORT, Montoya was asked on Wheatley's shock departure from Audi and whether COO and CEO Mattia Binotto would be up for the job as he was announced to take over.
As GPblog have reported, Binotto will not have the team principal position permanently, and while Montoya assumes Audi will be on the lookout for other options, he names Horner as a possible replacement.
“Mattia has an uphill battle. I don’t think he wanted to be fully involved. I think he wanted to be in the background. I would assume they’re probably looking at somebody to come and fill that gap.
“They need somebody like Christian to do that. I think people underestimate what Christian’s done, and for how long he did at Red Bull. You might like him, you might hate him, but he could deliver.”
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The former Williams man was also asked to comment on Wheatley's exit, with reports heavily linking him to a move to Aston Martin after only 10 months in charge at Audi.
"I think it's a good opportunity for him and I think probably one thing that drives him to go there was going back to the UK and living in the UK.
"I think the change when you've been in the UK for so long and you have the family and you have everything to move to Switzerland. Even Switzerland is an amazing place, it's a different culture and it's a bit of a shocker.
"So I think if you have the opportunity to go back to work with Honda that you did for the past few years and work with a shop that is 20 minutes from where you used to work. I mean, it just makes sense."
F1 team staff told 'nobody wants to work' with Horner
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Former driver Ralf Schumacher has a gloomier outlook on Horner's potential F1 return, claiming that "nobody wants to work" with the Briton following his Red Bull exit.
On Horner, Schumacher claimed "you don’t hear much good about him" in the F1 paddock, and that while his reputation is not "completely ruined," Schumacher does believe it has been "highly damaged."
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