Haas is the perfect team for Christian Horner's return to F1

With Christian Horner officially leaving the shackles of Red Bull, there has been reporting on the former team boss having chats with Haas. The American team is owned by Gene Haas, and he has been quite dogged in his belief of not selling off the outfit.

Christian Horner, on the other hand, is arguably one of the greatest team bosses of the modern era. What he did with Red Bull in the last two decades stands out, and if there is one thing clear, it is the fact that he is looking to come back to the sport with a vengeance.

When we talk about the Brit's return to the sport, his name has been linked with entities like Alpine and Cadillac. Both of the parties have, however, denied that there has been any conversation with Horner. The American team, on its part, has doubled down and put all its support behind Graeme Lowdon.

There are, in essence, two options for Christian Horner if he's looking to return to the sport in Alpine and Haas. The American team, however, seems to be the perfect choice for the former Red Bull boss to come back to the sport.

Christian Horner's wishlist for his F1 comeback

Part-ownership (following the Toto Wolff-Mercedes model)

If Christian Horner is planning a comeback, he's doing so with a path where he is the team owner in some capacity. After what happened with Red Bull Racing, where after 2 decades of achieving what he did, Horner was pushed aside and treated as just another employee.

He wouldn't want to suffer that fate again, and that's where the Toto Wolff-Mercedes model comes into the picture. According to the model, the Austrian owns 33.3% of the F1 team, while the other 66.7% is owned by the German brand and Jim Ratcliffe.

Horner would be looking to replicate that structure, as it makes him the face of the project and a partial owner.

Patient investors willing to put the money into the project

The second thing that Horner would essentially need is patient investors who are willing to put the money into the project for a while and don't expect immediate returns. Both Alpine and Haas are teams that are too far behind when it comes to technology, infrastructure, manpower, and competitiveness.

If Christian Horner is joining a team, he's doing so to take it to the top and sell the investors the same dream. The reality, however, is that it's going to take a lot of time to improve and build competency. Hence, you would need patient investors who don't get itchy feet if the team doesn't start winning within a year or so.

The possibility of a power unit project in the future

Arguably, one of the more important points for Christian Horner is going to be the fact that he would want a power unit project in the future. The Brit has been hamstrung by a poor supplier in the past as well and would not want that to be the case again.

Especially since every manufacturer, be it Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Red Bull, or Audi, would be reluctant to supply a power unit to a team that is led by Christian Horner and is a potential rival of the future. Horner realized how big an issue this can be when he was leading Milton Keynes and wouldn't want a repeat of it.

Why Haas is more viable than Renault

Haas would be cheaper

Well, the first thing we need to keep in mind when we're talking about prospective options for Christian Horner is how much these teams are worth. The Brit would have to become a shareholder in the team, and that would require a lot of money.

In one of the more recent reports, Alpine is worth around $1.5B, while Haas is worth around $1B. The same money would make it easier for Horner to buy a bigger share in the American team, something that does come in handy in the negotiations.

Renault's recent commitment to F1 is questionable

In fairness, Renault's commitment to F1 has been underwhelming at best, and this has been the case throughout the turbo-hybrid era. Be it the power unit or the F1 team, the entire operation is not run in a manner that pursues success the way it should.

Would Horner want to join forces with such an entity? It seems unlikely, especially since he does have a history of working with them as well. Haas, on the other hand, is a clean slate when it comes to that.

Potential Toyota partnership

Finally, and probably something that ties into the entire proposal, is the fact that Haas is already associated with Toyota. The partnership between the two parties is more on the engineering side for now. However, would the Japanese brand be interested in creating a replica of the operation that Mercedes runs at the moment?

Would they be willing to do it in partnership with Christian Horner? If they do, this would also solve Horner's pursuit of having a potential power unit project in the future.

Conclusion

In fairness, any association that Christian Horner ultimately forms is going to take a lot of work because there is a massive investment involved here and a lot of parties have to be brought to the table. But if there ever was one team that might just fit the former Red Bull boss like a glove, it is Haas, and the partnership that brings together Toyota in some way would be great for the sport.