Ecclestone breaks silence: is he really planning to team up with Horner?

It’s now been nearly a month since the news broke of Christian Horner’s dismissal, stepping down as Red Bull’s CEO and Team Principal with immediate effect, passing the heavy baton into the hands of Laurent Mekies.

The Frenchman has already had a taste of the Milton Keynes environment during two Grands Prix before the summer break, where he’ll have the chance to fine-tune the team’s internal workings and dynamics to better prepare for 2026 — a crucial year for Red Bull marked not only by new technical regulations but, most importantly, by the debut of their first in-house power unit developed in collaboration with Ford.

The powertrain project, as revealed by Helmut Marko a few days ago, is now led by “Ben Hodgkinson — an excellent man.”

What does the future hold for Christian Horner instead? GPblog previously reported that Horner had been looking at other teams for a long time. The Brit had shown interest in the Ferrari team in the past, but with Frédéric Vasseur’s contract renewal made official, how might the situation have changed now?

For the Brit, rumors have circulated about a possible alliance with Bernie Ecclestone to buy out Alpine in F1.

Present at the Hungaroring paddock, the former F1 supremo trashed the rumors by making an unusual comparison involving Lewis Hamilton.

“There’s more chance of Lewis winning his eighth title than that happening!” he replied to Sky Sports’ question.

When asked whether Horner will return to Formula 1, Ecclestone added: “I don’t know how or where, or whether he wants to. He probably doesn’t want to.''