Horner says he could walk away from F1 for good after Red Bull sacking

Christian Horner says he is at peace with the idea of never returning to Formula 1, telling an audience in New York on Wednesday that life after his Red Bull sacking has given him a fresh perspective on the sport’s demands.

Horner was dismissed as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal in July 2025, ending a 20-year tenure in which he oversaw six Constructors’ Championships. Speaking at the Autosport Business Exchange in Manhattan alongside CBS News anchor Errol Barnett, he made his first public appearance in the United States since leaving the team.

“To be honest with you, I’m not in any particular rush,” Horner said. “I’m happy just sitting on the periphery at the moment, just watching, having experienced life outside of Formula 1 the last 15 months and knowing the sacrifices that it takes to win.”

Horner was characteristically direct about the conditions that would need to be met for any return. “For me to go back, it would have to be for the right project. The sacrifices that you need to make, the amount of time it is away, the hours it dominates your life — it would have to be with like-minded people who wanted to win.”

He pointed to his record as evidence of the standard he would hold himself to. “I’ve won almost a third of the races that I’ve ever entered in Formula 1, and I wouldn’t want to go back just to take part. I’d want to go back to compete and then be in a position to invoke change. So it’d have to be something pretty compelling to convince me to go.”

Horner has recently published his autobiography, Drive, and when asked whether the book signalled an intention to return, he struck a reflective rather than ambitious tone. “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve loved my time in the sport. I’m a fan of Formula 1, and if that’s my time done, I’m OK with that. I’m proud of what I did, and I feel privileged to work with who I did.”

He did not entirely close the door, however. “There’s still a competitive desire within me, and if the right opportunity presented itself, under the right conditions, then I would be prepared to go back — but it would have to be with people who wanted to win at the end of the day. That just has no appeal to me otherwise.”

The Autosport Business Exchange event also featured seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former Formula 1 chairman and CEO Chase Carey, General Motors’ Mark Reuss, Penske’s Jonathan Gibson, and NASCAR’s Tim Clark.