Christian Horner Urged to Rule Out F1 Return Due to Toto Wolff Connection

Christian Horner has received support from a familiar voice following his unexpected exit from Red Bull Racing.

Jeremy Clarkson, known for Top Gear and The Grand Tour, shared the message he sent to Horner in the wake of his removal as Red Bull team principal and CEO. Horner was relieved of his duties on July 9 after two decades with the team, during which he led them to 124 race wins and 14 championship titles.

In his column for The Sun, Clarkson drew on personal experience, referencing his own departure from the BBC in 2015. He used a game analogy to describe his message to Horner.

“I texted him after the news broke,” Clarkson wrote. “I told him I’ve been there. You wake up the next day thinking, ‘Well, that’s it.’ But for me, it wasn’t. I hadn’t stepped on a snake—I’d stepped on a ladder.”

Discussing Horner’s next move, Clarkson was skeptical about a rumored shift to Alpine.

“The smart money is on Alpine,” he said. “But they’re switching to Mercedes engines next year, and that would mean working with Toto Wolff. Those two really don’t get along, so I don’t see it happening.”

Clarkson also mentioned Ferrari as a potential option, though he noted that would involve relocating to Italy and working alongside Lewis Hamilton. Other emerging names like Audi, Cadillac, and possibly Chinese entrants could be interested in Horner’s expertise as well.

Still, Clarkson believes Horner’s future might lie outside the paddock entirely.

“As I showed after the BBC, you don’t always have to stick to what you did before. I became a farmer. So maybe Christian turns up in a couple of years driving an ice cream van, becomes an astronaut—or even Foreign Secretary.”

Turning to Red Bull’s future, Clarkson issued a stern warning by drawing a comparison to another sports dynasty.

“Look at what happened to Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson left. Red Bull could face the same fate. Give it a few years, and they might end up racing in Formula 4.”