Toto Wolff is not sure if Christian Horner can ever truly make a return to Formula 1. According to the former rival of the ex-Red Bull team principal, the Briton has ’caused a lot of stir’ during his time in the premier class, making it difficult to secure a new spot with another team. However, Wolff denies that he himself wants to thwart his old rival with his interest in the much-discussed Alpine stake: ‘It would be quite sad if that were a consideration in whether or not to make such an investment’.
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Christian Horner had to pack his bags at Red Bull the day after the 2025 British GP. The former team principal was then not heard from until last February. In his first conversation with the media since his dismissal, Horner indicated he had ‘unfinished business in Formula 1’. The Briton admitted he did not rule out a return to the premier class, but immediately added the caveat: “I will only come back for something I can win with”.
According to Toto Wolff – Horner’s old rival – it will be quite difficult for the former Red Bull team principal to find a spot in Formula 1. “Horner has caused a lot of stir, and that has consequences in our small world,” Wolff says in an interview with the Press Association. “When you say things… but that’s what he’s been doing his whole life, and that’s what he does best.”
‘Nothing to do with Christian’
One of the ways for Horner to return to Formula 1 would reportedly be through an acquisition of the share package of Otro Capital, the investment group behind Alpine. However, Wolff is also said to be eyeing the shares, and reportedly wants to thwart his old rival in this way. There is no truth to the latter, the Austrian now says.
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“The fact that we are looking at those shares has nothing to do with Christian. And the idea that there is a rivalry between Christian and me over who buys the shares in Alpine is fabricated. It would be quite sad if that were a consideration in whether or not to make such an investment,” says Wolff. “We are looking at it from different angles, and we haven’t reached any conclusions yet. We want to know if it makes sense.”
‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly‘
Still, the Mercedes team principal doubts whether he would like to see Horner back in the paddock. “The sport does miss personalities. And his personality was clearly very controversial, and that’s good for the sport,” Wolff continues. “I told Fred Vasseur that ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ is needed. And now only the good and the ugly are left. The bad has disappeared. Would I consider that Christian could ever be an ally or someone who shares the same objectives? I don’t think so. But even when I felt the greatest frustration and anger towards him, you have to remind yourself that even your worst enemy has a best friend, so there must be something good in him.”
According to Wolff, however, Horner already left Formula 1 before the two could reach a reconciliation. “If there hadn’t been competitive rivalry all those years, and if more time had passed, I’m sure I could have had dinner with him and had a chat,” the Mercedes team principal even states. “In those years it was just too intense, too fierce, and things happened that even today I still don’t understand why he did them. I don’t know if he will find his way back, and in what capacity, but I certainly wish him no harm. And we must give each other appreciation. There aren’t many team principals who have done what he has done.”
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