Christian Horner has been patiently plotting his return to Formula 1 after Red Bull Racing fired him midseason in 2025, and former driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes his presence would be very cool.
“It would be so cool if Christian Horner came back,” Montoya said. “The success he had with Red Bull for all those years was incredible. So, if he gets a shot at doing it again, I think it’d be very cool. And I think he understands what it’ll take.
“It’s a little bit like Toto Wolff did. You get in, then you put the right people in the right places, and whether you like it or not, they get the job done.”
Ferrari, one of the teams Horner was tipped to join, suffered from a terrible 2025 F1 campaign, and while they appear solid ahead of the 2026 season, there is always risk that they fail.
Firing the top guy is never the answer
“The question is, if it doesn’t work, is it his fault?” Montoya mused. “I think this is the biggest issue Ferrari has; every time something doesn’t work, you get rid of the top guy. You need to be able to build, and you need to take that fear from Ferrari and get rid of whoever has that mentality.
“They need to build instead of destroy. You either have good enough people to build the best car or you don’t. If you don’t, you need to figure out how to hire the best people and see what it takes to hire the best people and build a good team and a good base.
“But you cannot go, ‘Oh, the car is sh!t; you’re out. We’ll bring someone else in.’ Because the next guy is going to come in and people don’t like him, they’re going to leave. They have got to stop sacking people and moving people and leave the politics at home.
“It is a race team,” the Colombian pointed out. “Look at where McLaren and Mercedes-Benz are. They are very solid. They win together, and they lose together, and everything that happens is together.
“You don’t see blame. But the Italians are so fiery and so media-driven that it’s like, ‘We need somebody’s head on the plate!'”
And while Horner-to-Ferrari rumors have calmed down, Montoya believes the Briton would be a decent choice to replace Vasseur, but there is a catch.
Horner will need time at Ferrari
“Honestly, yes, Ferrari would benefit from having Christian Horner,” he said. “But Ferrari would have to understand it would be sh!t for two years and that this is a four-year program at least and they would have to be patient.
“They would have to be supportive as the team is rebuilding, and everyone would have to appreciate that they will be heading somewhere strong together.
“You can’t have people running their mouths and talking bad about it. The media loves it when the bosses start running their mouth off. They need to be united.
“This is where Mercedes and McLaren do a mega job by staying united and staying quiet and supporting their drivers,” the retired F1 racer maintained.
“Alpine would be the best choice for Christian Horner,” Montoya said. Alpine has the Mercedes power unit. They’re based in England. They have everything. They’re close to where Red Bull is, about 20 minutes, 30 minutes from Red Bull.
“I think if he could get involved with that team, it could do wonders for then,” the winner of seven F1 races concluded.