Horner to Ferrari? According to Chandhok, that chance has now passed!

21:30, 12 Jul

byEstéban den Toom

Following the announcement of Christian Horner's departure from the Red Bull Racing team, the question of where the Englishman's future lies remains. Is he making a switch to Ferrari or Alpine? Or will we never see him back in Formula 1 at all? This is what Karun Chandhok thinks about Horner's future.

According to the Sky Sports analyst, the opportunity for Horner has now slipped away. "I think a combination of Christian and Newey moving to Ferrari would have been a much more attractive package for Ferrari. For me, it now seems more realistic that he ends up at Alpine rather than Ferrari. I think Ferrari now really wants to forge their own path," Chandhok said on The F1 Show.

"Both he and Flavio are old friends of Bernie Ecclestone. Bernie was the one who brought Christian into Formula 1 when Red Bull took over the team. He played a key role in Christian getting that job in 2005. Flavio doesn't want to be the team manager or deal with the day-to-day running of the team, for that he has Steve Nielsen as Managing Director. But I can imagine that behind the scenes some gears are already turning and phone calls being made to give Christian at least some role within the team."

Why Horner moving to Alpine is not so straightforward

Ted Kravitz also previously spoke about Horner's possible future in Formula 1. He too mentioned that Horner moving to Alpine seems more likely than to the Scuderia. GPBlog had already reported earlier that a switch from Horner to Alpine does not seem a very logical option. From 2026, Mercedes will supply engines to Alpine, which could mean that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and Horner might want to avoid a collaboration.