Haas rejected Christian Horner's approach to join for a potential partnership: Reports

Former Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was reportedly linked to a move to the Haas F1 team in the last couple of weeks. However, reports suggest that Haas has rejected the Briton's approach as the American team's TP Ayao Komatsu commented on the Horner rumors.

Christian Horner was sacked after two successful decades with Red Bull Racing. Horner was one of the key individuals who made RBR the force they are, along with Adrian Newey and Helmut Marko. The Briton was removed from his position on July 9, but continued to be a part of the team.

A few days ago, Red Bull officially parted ways with Horner as the two parties negotiated and came to an agreement. The former team principal had multiple years left on his contract, and as a result, he received a massive payout of $100 million from the Milton Keynes-based outfit. Reports also revealed that the Briton can join a team in the spring of 2026.

Soon after the official exit, reports of Christian Horner wanting to make a comeback to F1 started circling, and he was linked to a potential role at the Haas F1 team. Some reports suggested that Horner doesn't only want a leadership role, but also wants to become a part-owner/shareholder in the team.

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco - Practice - Source: Getty

The Race revealed that there were exploratory talks between Horner and a senior member close to team owner Gene Haas, but nothing came of it. The report claimed there was no scope for the deal to happen.

The Race also asked Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu about the Horner reports ahead of the 2025 Singapore GP, with the Japanese replying,

“It’s true that he approached us and one of our guys had an exploratory, let's say, talk. But that was it. Nothing's going any further. I’ve got nothing more to say on that one.”

However, Haas isn't the only team that Horner has been linked to since parting ways with Red Bull Racing.

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Former F1 driver shares his take on the prospect of Christian Horner joining Flavio Briatore at Alpine

Christian Horner has been linked to Alpine before the Haas rumors started circling the paddock. The French team is in a rebuilding phase with Flavio Briatore joining the team last year. Horner achieved a lot of success at Red Bull, including four championships each with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Amid the Alpine reports, former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who raced under Flavio Briatore, came out and spoke about the reports of Horner's potential move to Alpine.

“I think Horner can come back to F1. He was a driver first of all and then he was Red Bull's team principal for 20 years, and he won everything. For sure, one of the best team principals in the sport. Maybe a mix of Horner and Briatore could be a good compromise!” (via aceodds.com)

Alpine shut down its powertrains division and will become a Mercedes customer team starting next year.