Netflix’s ubiquitous boom microphone hovers above the paddock in Doha. It was in McLaren’s hospitality area where they are trying to prevent Max Verstappen gatecrashing their world championship party.
Plenty of worthwhile topics were aired, as Lando Norris pretended he was not intimidated by Verstappen closing to within 24 points of him. Norris was convincingly relaxed at one moment, a bit techier later.
But the cameras could not find their star man, their central polarising character in seven series (sorry Guenther Steiner had one shtick, a potty mouth).
That is Christian Horner, love him or loathe him, and he is sitting back at home in England weighing up his next move after being axed in July from his role as Red Bull team principal.
The good news for Netflix is that Horner is sure to return, even if he is saying nothing publicly for now.
He is needed in a sport that for all its growing popularity among a new crowd of fans has lost a host of its old characters. For example, Laurent Mekies, the Frenchman who has taken over at Red Bull, is a nice man but a reticent boffin.
Christian Horner is currently plotting his next move in F1 after being dismissed by Red Bull in July
Horner is needed in a sport that for all its growing popularity among a new crowd of fans has lost a host of its old characters.
Mekies is an emblem of the current breed of engineers promoted to top positions, like the thoughtful team principal Andrea Stella, who is smoothing the Norris-Oscar Piastri conundrum with the diplomacy skills of Henry Kissinger.
Stella’s boss Zak Brown and Mercedes’ Toto Wolff remain of the old big beasts, always a grenade at the ready, and the wily old goat Flavio Briatore still stirs at Alpine. But Brown and Wolff are like Punch without Judy so long as Horner is away.
As to his future, there are a number of options. The blockbuster destination for the sport’s profile would be joining Ferrari. Horner in red. Ferrari have been in touch with him over the years, offering him a fortune to take over as team principal, at least once. Instead, they got Fred Vasseur, and look how that worked out.
For now, Ferrari chairman John Elkann is supporting the Frenchman, offering him the dreaded vote of confidence a few weeks ago. But Ferrari is Ferrari and you only know knives are out for you when you feel one rip through your shoulder blades.
Horner would need to protect himself from interference from the dark forces. He would need the promise of total control on the basis of, say, ‘give me three years to do it my way – and if I fail, sack me then.’
Autonomy had been known in Maranello. Jean Todt managed the feat in the years of Michael Schumacher dominance, so it is not impossible.
But it has not been done since. I understand Horner and Elkann get on well personally, so perhaps an understanding could be reached.
For Horner, it would be tempting to have a crack at turning around the sport’s most revered team, which have not won either title for 17 years, in which time Horner led Red Bull to eight drivers’ and six constructors’ championship triumphs. It is obvious why they would want him.
Horner has long been linked with the team principal position currently held by Fred Vasseur
Another plausible idea has him buying a stake in Alpine. It is understood that he has a serious amount of willing backers that could fund taking a share even at Formula One’s current asking prices brought about by the sport’s boom and the introduction of the budget cap.
Wolff sold five per cent of Mercedes earlier this month for £230million to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz.
Equity in a team turns him from employee status to that of owner, with its obvious attractions.
But that desire must be weighed against the romance and challenge of becoming the legend that resurrected Ferrari.
And then other considerations. Working in England would allow him to drive to and from work as he did each night during his 20 years at Red Bull.
It would also save him the task of learning Italian and Italian ways, though his Spice Girl wife Geri would undoubtedly support him if he were to choose this route as she remained during the scandal that overshadowed his last 18 months at Red Bull. place
Aston Martin are another nominal route back. There he could recreate his partnership with Adrian Newey, the most successful and lauded designer in the sport’s history.
But this week’s news that Newey, who joined Aston earlier in the year, has taken over as team principal there came as a surprise and seemed to preclude Horner going there. That, however, need not necessarily be the case, for Horner could be installed above Newey if owner Lawrence Stroll had the will to make it happen.
Adrian Newey’s installation as Aston Martin’s team principal does not necessarily rule Horner out of joining the outfit. Pictured (L-R): Newey and team owner Lawrence Stroll
Wherever Horner pitches up, it appears only a matter of when not if he returns to the sport
That, however, would seem unlikely. Would Horner want to work for Stroll, even if with a stake in the team? Stroll has hardly shown patience with his team principals. And one Stroll means two Strolls – Lance, his son, is why he bought the team and him being in a race seat is a sine qua non for all his staff. You grin and bear it, or you get out of his £300m Silverstone factory.
And, while Newey’s brilliance is acknowledged, would reuniting with him not be a case of ‘going back’?
There is also the possibility of developing a 12th team on the grid if FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s plan reaches fruition. But that is some distance away and would require patience on Horner’s part.
Netflix will hope he returns sooner than that.
