Flavio Briatore rules out Christian Horner joining Alpine after Red Bull exit

ZANDVOORT – Flavio Briatore has ruled out Christian Horner making an imminent move to Alpine after his recent exit from Red Bull Racing, with the Italian saying on Aug 29 at the Dutch Grand Prix that he had not considered it.

Heading Alpine, which is primarily owned by Renault, has been mooted as a potential next move for 51-year-old Briton Horner, who was sacked by Red Bull in July.

But Briatore, Alpine’s executive director and de facto team principal following the departure of Oliver Oakes, said of the Horner links: “I’m not considering in this moment anything.

“Christian is not in Formula One in this moment any more. I hope he comes back soon but, for the moment, he’s not in the picture of Alpine.”

There have been rumours of Horner uniting with Briatore and ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to buy a stake in Alpine.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he would welcome a reunion of the triumvirate he described as “the mafia reunited”.

“That would be an exciting story and would create a lot of buzz around Formula One. I think we need that. Formula One has always been about the best racing with exciting drivers and great personalities,” Wolff said.

“If there was such an exciting project, these three guys coming together, all of the mafia reunited, that would give good content.”

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, whose father and former F1 driver Jos had a tetchy relationship with Horner towards the end of his tenure, did not get stressed by widespread speculation in recent months that he might leave Red Bull Racing for Mercedes in 2026.

In fact, he said “it was very, very simple” in making the decision to stay with Red Bull. He is under contract until the 2028 season but had a potential exit clause based on his championship points standing that ended up not being triggered.

“I only say what I want to say,” Verstappen told ESPN in a report published on Aug 29. “And I was never even stressed about it at all because... of course naturally you always want to win. But at the same time, you just work on performance.

“People always come up with stories or ask questions. But for me, it was quite straightforward all the time.”

For someone in an intense profession, the matter did not put him in duress.

“I think in general, I’m a person that is always quite relaxed about it,” said the 27-year-old. “Like I don’t stress out or go to bed massively overthinking stuff.

“I just live my life, you know, see what happens next. For me, there’s nothing wrong with talking or listening (to offers) or whatever, but it was all under control.”

What was not in his control were the statements coming from Wolff, who in the Dutchman’s own words, has a good relationship with the driver.

Wolff was openly interested in the possibility of signing Verstappen, even holding up contract extension negotiations with Mercedes star driver George Russell.

It did not help that social media went viral with images of Wolff and Verstappen spending time together on a yacht this summer. Both were vacationing in Sardinia.

“Sometimes you meet up and you have a good relationship with people. I think that’s nice, that it’s not only about competition,” Verstappen added. REUTERS