What next for Christian Horner? Could Ferrari be on the cards…

As the dust begins to settle on the shock news of Christian Horner’s Red Bull exit, attention starts to turn to the future and what might come next.

Horner has been a pivotal figure in the F1 paddock in the past 20 years and will go down as one of the sport’s greatest team bosses, having overseen six constructors’ world championships and eight drivers’ world titles during his time in charge of Red Bull.

The 51-year-old Briton led Red Bull to two separate periods of dominance - first with Sebastian Vettel and later Max Verstappen - and is one of F1’s most successful operators. Now without a job after his abrupt sacking, the question is what next for Horner?

Will Horner want to take some time out away from F1, or immediately thrust himself back into the spotlight with a point to prove? It’s hard to imagine that this is the end of his journey in the sport…

The missing leader for Alpine?

Alpine still do not have an official team principal following Oliver Oakes’s resignation after the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year.

Flavio Briatore is operating as de-facto team boss, and the Enstone squad have brought in Steve Nielsen as managing director to provide some much-needed experience to the team.

Alpine said Nielsen would “oversee the day-to-day running of the team at Enstone, starting from 1 September ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza”.

Despite Nielsen’s impending arrival, the prospect of signing Horner would surely intrigue Briatore and Alpine. Perhaps there is a way he could fit in alongside Nielsen to help improve the struggling team’s fortunes. Whether or not such a position would appeal to Horner is another matter.

The exact details surrounding Horner’s departure are also not clear at this early stage but it is highly likely he will have to serve a period of gardening leave before he is able to join a rival outfit.

What about Ferrari? 

In late May, Horner was being linked with Ferrari amid reports in Italian media that Fred Vasseur’s position was under threat with the team weighing up whether to sack the Frenchman.

German publication BILD claimed Ferrari bosses had made contact with Horner but the Briton quickly turned down the approach.

When quizzed by Crash.net at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Horner dismissed any notion that he would be willing to trade his post at Red Bull for Ferrari.

"Look, of course, it's always flattering to be associated with other teams, but my commitment is 100% with Red Bull," Horner replied. "It always has been and certainly will be for the long term.

"There's a bunch of speculation, as always in this business, about people coming here, going there, whatever. And I think people in the team know exactly what the situation is.

“My Italian is worse than Flavio [Briatore's] English. So, how on earth would that work?”

Things have changed quickly in the weeks that have passed and with Horner now jobless, might his position on joining Ferrari change?

Ferrari chairman John Elkann is thought to be a big admirer of Horner and it has been suggested that he has tried to poach him from Red Bull on more than one occasion in recent years.

Might Horner’s unexpected availability prompt Ferrari to consider another approach? After all, he is one of F1’s most successful team boss of the past two decades.

The speculation and pressure surrounding Vasseur’s position is unlikely to die down with Horner suddenly on the market.

This is very much ‘watch this space’ territory…