Christian Horner has been warned about a possible move to Ferrari, with former F1 team boss Gunther Steiner suggesting he will “struggle like anyone else” to live up to the team’s high expectations.
Rumors about Horner’s F1 future have increased in recent weeks.
Horner officially left Red Bull in September, ending his 20-year association with the team.
Since leaving the club, the 51-year-old has been linked with a move to several other teams.
Haas manager Ayao Komatsu revealed that there had been talks with Horner, but Haas have since denied the possibility of further talks.
Aston Martin also dismissed the idea of signing him.
Ferrari remains a possible destination given the disappointing 2025 F1 campaign.
The team is winless and has seen little progress throughout the year.
A delayed start to the 2026 season could put team principal Frédéric Vasseur under pressure again, but he received public support from Ferrari chairman John Elkann over the US Grand Prix weekend.
Alpine is another potential option for Horner due to their close relationship with Flavio Briatore.
However, Horner is understood to want a significant level of control within the team, potentially including a shareholding, complicating his return to the sport.
Horner warns about Ferrari
Horner had previously been approached by Ferrari.
The team approached him at the end of 2022 when they were looking for a replacement for Mattia Binotto.
Horner, who was reluctant to leave Red Bull at the time, declined, and Ferrari appointed Vasseur, who was at Sauber, in his place.
christian horner
Speaking on The Red Flags podcast, Steiner explained why he thinks Horner’s move to Ferrari is unlikely.
“I don’t have any insight, but my guess is that Christian will struggle just like the rest of the Ferrari players,” Steiner said.
“It’s difficult, but for Christian to go to Ferrari, I mean, as everyone knows, Ferrari always expects miracles, but it takes a little bit of time and they don’t give anyone enough time.
“I think they understood that at the moment, so I think John Elkann also understood that Fred needed a little more time to fix things and extended his contract at least until next year when the new rules are announced.”
“And I think if the car is good, everything will be fine. If the car is not good, you don’t know what’s going on at the time, and I don’t think they know what’s going on at the time.”
“But at the moment I don’t think Christian will go to Ferrari, and I don’t think Ferrari will go after Christian at the moment.
“You never know what’s going to happen a year from now, but right now, I don’t think that’s happening.”