Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has denied trying to prevent Christian Horner from returning to Formula 1, but said there could be “repercussions” after what he described as the damage Horner caused during his time at Red Bull.
Horner was removed as Red Bull team principal and CEO in July last year and has since said he wants to return to the sport to settle “unfinished business.” One possible route back emerged in January when his interest in buying the 24% Alpine stake owned by private investor Otro Capital was reported. Mercedes — and Wolff personally — have also expressed interest in that same holding.
Wolff told the Press Association that Horner ‘has broken quite a lot of glass, and these things have repercussions in our microcosm.’ He stressed that Mercedes’ examination of the Alpine stake is unrelated to Horner and dismissed suggestions of a personal rivalry over the purchase as ‘made up.’ Wolff said the team is evaluating the investment on its merits and has not reached any conclusions.
Wolff and Horner were two of F1’s most prominent figures during the intense Mercedes–Red Bull rivalry, particularly around the 2021 championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Horner later led Red Bull during Verstappen’s run of four consecutive titles from 2021 to 2024, but his final 18 months at the team were marred by allegations of controlling behaviour by a female colleague; Horner was cleared of those claims twice.
With Aston Martin reportedly favoring former Red Bull figure Jonathan Wheatley for their team principal role, there is no clear immediate path for Horner to return to a top-team management post.
Wolff said he was ‘in two minds’ about Horner’s potential comeback. He argued the sport has lost strong personalities and that Horner’s controversial presence had been, in a way, entertaining. As Wolff put it in conversation with Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur, F1 needs ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’ — and he suggested that ‘the bad is gone.’
On whether Horner could ever be an ally, Wolff answered skeptically but more nuanced: he does not expect Horner to be an ally, yet acknowledged that even rivals have redeeming qualities and that the long, intense rivalry had made reconciliation difficult. Wolff said he does not wish Horner ill and recognized that few team principals have matched Horner’s achievements, adding that he is at ease with whatever outcome follows Horner’s future in the sport.
Formula 1 resumes on May 1–3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season’s second Sprint weekend, broadcast live on Sky Sports F1.