Steiner dismisses Horner-Vasseur Ferrari pairing as book publicity stunt

Guenther Steiner has flatly dismissed the prospect of Christian Horner joining Ferrari in a leadership capacity, arguing there is simply no room for both Horner and current team principal Fred Vasseur at the Maranello outfit.

Speculation around Horner’s future gathered pace after the former Red Bull team principal told The Times that working with Ferrari would be “the dream” — and that it is the only team at which he would accept a non-ownership role at this stage of his career.

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner offered a more sceptical reading of events. “I think Christian wants to come back to Formula 1, and he said clearly that he doesn’t want to work for anybody anymore,” the former Haas boss said. “Obviously, plan A for him doesn’t work out, so he goes to plan B and he doesn’t get a stake in Ferrari if he goes to work there. I think he wants to come in and he sees an opportunity there.”

Steiner also raised an eyebrow at the timing of Horner’s comments, noting that the Briton is preparing to release a new book. “He’s releasing a book so it will help the sale of that one, or maybe not, we don’t know, but at least it’s a little bit of publicity,” he added.

On the question of whether Horner and Vasseur could realistically coexist at Ferrari, Steiner was unequivocal. “I don’t think that’s going to happen that Fred is staying there working for Christian,” he said. “Fred in himself is a very successful guy. But first of all, I don’t know that Fred wants to leave or that he has to leave.”

Steiner acknowledged that contracts carry limited weight in Formula 1 but maintained his core position. “In the end, Fred has got a contract and how much are they worth in Formula 1? Not a lot, I guess, but there is not space for the two of them. That’s my opinion on it. That is not going to happen.”

Vasseur has led Ferrari since replacing Mattia Binotto at the start of 2023 and guided the team to a constructors’ championship challenge last season. Horner, meanwhile, departed Red Bull Racing earlier this year following a turbulent period at the Milton Keynes-based team.