Horner returns to F1 paddock at Silverstone and announces memoir a year after Red Bull exit

Christian Horner will walk back into an F1 paddock for the first time in a year when he attends this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone as a guest, one year on from the race that marked the end of his two-decade tenure at Red Bull. He has simultaneously announced his first memoir, Drive, set for release on 22 October.

Last year’s British GP proved to be the final race of Horner’s long reign at Red Bull. He was removed from his position before the Belgian Grand Prix as the team struggled for performance and became engulfed in an escalating internal power struggle.

Since his departure, Horner has spent a year away from motorsport, holding talks with several current and prospective F1 teams about a return to a senior role. Now free to join a rival outfit, the 52-year-old has yet to find a position where he would have full control. Speaking at the European Motor Show in Dublin in February, he made clear he has not ruled out a comeback. “I feel like I have unfinished business in Formula 1,” he said. “It didn’t finish the way that I would have liked it to finish. But I am not going to come back for just anything.”

Horner has maintained relationships at the top of the sport during his absence, meeting F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali at the Jerez MotoGP round in April and visiting FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the governing body’s Paris headquarters earlier this year.

The Silverstone appearance coincides with the announcement of Drive, published by Transworld Publishing. An audiobook version narrated by Horner will be released alongside the print edition on 22 October.

The memoir promises to cover more than two decades at the front of the F1 grid, including Red Bull’s two dominant championship eras. Under Horner’s leadership, the team delivered eight drivers’ titles — four each with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen — and six constructors’ championships.

The publisher’s statement describes the book as “vivid, candid and uncompromising”, saying it “exposes the incredible pressures of that role, the psychological demands negotiated during each race, and the instinctive decision-making required to win in a sport of maximum risk with the very finest of margins.” It also promises Horner’s account of “shock upsets, rivalries and private challenges” alongside the collaborations that underpinned his success.