Christian Horner again played down links to Ferrari as the former Red Bull boss claimed he would be “at peace” if a return to Formula One never happens.
Horner, 52, started his speaking tour to help launch his new book, entitled "Drive," at the Barbican in York.
He ran through his entire Formula One career, from Red Bull’s introduction into the sport through to his controversial exit after the British Grand Prix in 2025.
But the two-hour show passed without a single mention of the allegations Horner faced during his latter days with the team. The billed Q&A from the audience was delivered in the form of QR-code submitted questions put to Horner by the host.
Red Bull’s decision to sack him came a year and a half after he was accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague. Horner always denied the claims and was exonerated for a second time of controlling behaviour by an independent KC. It is a subject covered in the book in a chapter titled "Out come the wolves."
Horner’s Red Bull exit ended a 20-year career with the team, where he won eight drivers’ and six constructors’ titles, and he continues to be linked with a return to the sport.
A recent interview, in which Horner described Ferrari as the biggest brand in F1, reignited links to the Italian giants, but he again moved to talk that down.
“I said ‘there’s an aura around Ferrari, it’s a privilege as a driver, an engineer etc. It is the dream of so many drivers’. I never said it was my bloody dream!” Horner said.
“But the story came out that Ferrari was my dream job. I felt sorry for Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] because suddenly he was under a lot of pressure.”
Horner touched on how he lured design guru Adrian Newey to the team, his relationship with world champion drivers Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen and how the organization of the team changed following the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.
He described his sacking from Red Bull, days after the Silverstone race, as “brutal”.
When the subject of his future came up again, Horner suggested that a return to F1 is not a certainty.
“What excites me most is what is the next chapter going to be and, honestly, I have no idea,” Horner added.
“If my time is done in Formula One, I’ve had a hell of a ride and I did OK. If the right thing comes up to go back, I go back. But I am at peace in myself that if it doesn’t I don’t have to.”
Red Bull are using their own power trains for the first time this season, the culmination of a five-year project launched in 2021 and overseen by Horner until his departure.
Verstappen has won the last two races – in Malaysia and Singapore – to deliver the first successes of that project on track and Horner spoke of his pride in seeing the engine come to fruition.
“Seeing that engine come to life and deliver and be reliable ... people thought it would be a joke,” he said.
“To see podiums and then the victories in the last two weeks, in its 16th race to win a Grand Prix, I took huge pride in that. Both shareholders contacted me and thanked me.”