CHRISTIAN HORNER has been warned that a Formula One return with Aston Martin would “not work”.
Horner, 51, was handed a whopping £80million payout for leaving Red Bull Racing after he was sacked as team principal in July and replaced by Laurent Mekies.
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But the ex-F1 chief, formerly the longest-serving team boss in the paddock with 20 years of service which yielded 14 drivers and constructors titles, is already plotting a way back into the sport after it was revealed he was “missing” it.
Horner’s payout was less than the £110m he could have had for the full duration of his deal which had run to 2030.
But SunSport understands taking the lower offer means he is free to return to F1 as early as spring 2026.
A number of teams have been linked to Horner, including Haas, Alpine, Ferrari and Aston Martin, as he looks to also buy into a team as a co-owner.
The latter of these teams recruited Horner’s former Red Bull ally, Adrian Newey, after 19 years working together at the Milton Keynes-based team.
Design chief Newey, 66, is said to be getting “very little sleep” in his new role as Managing Technical Partner at Aston since starting on March 1 this year.
However, former Haas boss and Drive to Survive fan favourite Guenther Steiner has claimed reuniting the pair at the team’s Silverstone base would not work.
Steiner, 60, told Lottoland: “In the last year the problem between Adrian and Christian was one of the reasons why Adrian left Red Bull.
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“So, bringing Christian back, I don’t think that would work at the moment.”
He continued: “I don’t think Aston Martin need Christian right now.
“I think there was a lot of unhappiness internally, and something had to change.
“The change was Christian leaving, and they are just trying to go back to their glory days now.
“With Red Bull, we could see it during the last one-and-a-half years where every race weekend there was drama, and that has gone away.
“I think Aston Martin with the people they have in place are very well set to show what they can do under the new regulations.”
Steiner also joked he had “sent my bank details and asked him to send me some of the money” when speaking about Horner’s mega payout.
Red Bull have enjoyed an upturn in form with Max Verstappen winning the last two races in Italy and Azerbaijan.
With the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, the flying Dutchman is looking to add the track to his list of wins for the first time in his career.
If Verstappen, who turned 28 today, wins the street race he will have won a race at every circuit on the 2025 calendar across his F1 career.
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