Christian Horner is reportedly in talks with Alpine F1, as equity stakes and Red Bull tensions fuel speculation in the paddock.
Christian Horner could indeed join Alpine F1, according to the latest speculation circulating in the Formula 1 paddock.
Even though the Red Bull Racing team principal has once again stated that he is flattered but not interested, the Briton himself knows he is currently in a delicate position within his team.
Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher, in any case, continues to dig into the matter and put pressure on Horner. The Sky Germany consultant has been regularly criticizing the Briton for about a year now, ever since the eruption of the alleged harassment scandal involving him.
German channel Sport1 even claims that Horner recently asked Sky Deutschland to remove Schumacher from his role as a consultant. That attempt failed, with the channel refusing to yield to such pressure.
But Schumacher is not behind the latest paddock rumors suggesting that Horner is increasingly being stripped of his power by Red Bull’s owners, fueling speculation of a potential move to Ferrari or Alpine F1.
Horner had previously dismissed the Ferrari rumors with a wave of the hand.
“My Italian is worse than Flavio’s (Briatore) English, so how could that work?”
But the rumor of a potential move to Alpine is far more plausible, and not only because he has been close to Briatore, Alpine’s advisor, for many years.
“Briatore is looking for a strong new team boss,” said Schumacher, “and he and Horner know and respect each other.”
Indeed, according to several sources, a decisive factor in a potential deal could be an equity offer from Renault, the owner of Alpine F1, to Horner. A similar arrangement between Adrian Newey and Aston Martin F1 paved the way for the renowned designer’s departure from Red Bull last year.
“That’s what he (Horner) has always wanted,” acknowledged Schumacher when asked about the rumored equity offer from Alpine F1 to Horner, “and he doesn’t have that opportunity at Red Bull.”
“He doesn’t have it anywhere else either, and that’s why I can imagine he would be very interested. Especially when you consider the current value of an F1 team.”
If Horner were to leave his current position, Schumacher knows exactly where Red Bull should look for a replacement.
“If I were Oliver Mintzlaff (CEO of Red Bull), I would immediately call Andreas Seidl,” he concluded, referring to the German who was sidelined from the new Sauber project, owned by Audi, last year.
