Christian Horner’s comments on the Ferrari rumours

At the end of September, comments made by former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner caused a stir. A reporter from *The Times* had visited Horner to conduct an in-depth feature. One of the topics discussed was the Briton’s possible return to Formula 1. Horner made it clear that, in such a scenario, he would not want to be at the helm; rather, should he return to the premier class, only a partial ownership stake would be an option for him.

Horner then added a few more sentences that caused quite a stir: “At this stage in my life, there would only be one team for which I would accept not having a share in the ownership (…). Would I consider Ferrari? I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula 1. It’s the dream. And it is undeniably the sleeping giant of Formula 1.” At that point, Ferrari was struggling on the track. And as is so often the case in such situations, rumours began to circulate in the Italian media that Ferrari might part ways with team principal Fred Vasseur. The story quickly took on a life of its own: Vasseur out? Horner in? Shortly afterwards, both Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, as well as Ferrari’s senior management, threw their full support behind Vasseur. There was no question of him being sacked.

Horner: I feel sorry for Fred Vasseur

Now, just under a month later, Horner has shared his view with our colleagues at Sky in the UK on how the speculation surrounding him as Vasseur’s alleged successor at Ferrari could have gained such momentum. Horner said: “I haven’t spoken to Fred about it, but I’m very sorry for him that such speculation arose. It stemmed from an interview conducted about a month before it was published. And when it was published, it coincided with a few comments that had been made at the circuit. It then took on a life of its own.”

Horner wanted to be respectful towards Ferrari

Horner clarified: “I wanted to be respectful towards Ferrari by saying that the team is different from other teams. It has a different standing in the sport. Having once led a strong team myself, I know what kind of attention that brings… I felt sorry for Fred that it actually triggered so much attention and so much media coverage at a time when they were obviously going through a somewhat difficult phase.”

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