FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem met Christian Horner at the FIA headquarters in Paris earlier this month; the governing body posted photos with the caption “Good to see you, my friend.” The FIA did not disclose the purpose of the encounter. Horner was officially in Paris to attend the Retromobile classic car show, which is marking its 50th anniversary and runs through February 1.

Horner has kept a low profile since his dismissal in July 2025 by Red Bull, ending a 20-year tenure that transformed the team. Since then he has been working behind the scenes: contacting teams after the summer break, pursuing investors in the U.S. and Middle East, and exploring two main routes back into Formula 1 (F1).

One route involves a consortium reportedly interested in buying Otro Capital’s stake in Alpine — widely reported as 24% (some sources say 26%) — a negotiation figures such as Flavio Briatore have publicly acknowledged. The other is speculation that Horner could back a bid to add a new, 12th F1 team; reports say early talks with Aston Martin showed promise before stalling.

Red Bull has agreed to shorten Horner’s gardening leave, meaning he will be free to take a new role from the end of April. Media reports have also cited a departure payout in the region of £52 million to £80 million under a contract that originally ran to 2030.

Journalists who covered the Paris meeting described it as cordial but offered no firm evidence of commercial or regulatory discussions; Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater said Horner did not raise the Alpine purchase or a new-team plan during the conversation. Neither Horner, the FIA, Alpine, Otro Capital nor Red Bull have provided official confirmation of any hiring, investment or deal linked to the meeting. The combination of Horner’s low profile since July 2025, his involvement in investor talks around Alpine, and the publicized meeting with Ben Sulayem has renewed media and fan speculation about a possible F1 return, but no concrete proof has emerged.

Sources