Christian Horner’s F1 comeback ‘vetoed’ with shock obstacle

The 52-year-old lives on the Oxfordshire border near Banbury with Spice Girl singer Geri Halliwell, whom he married in 2015.

Mr Horner had been team principal at Red Bull since 2005, overseeing eight drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

But this all came to an end last year when his team let him go mid-season over performance-related issues with the team.

READ MORE: Christian Horner finally secures new job after Red Bull departure

Mr Horner’s potential move back into Formula 1 has now reportedly been “vetoed” by Renault, following the latest twist in the ongoing Alpine stake sale saga.

A recent BBC report suggested that a proposed deal for Mercedes to acquire Otro Capital’s 24 per cent holding in Alpine has now collapsed, largely because of concerns over the valuation being sought.

According to those reports, Otro are said to be asking for around $720m for their stake, implying a total valuation of about $3b for Alpine.

Otro only bought the shareholding in 2023 for roughly $233m, while Mercedes is understood to view Alpine’s overall worth as closer to $2.3b.

The report read: “Renault is said to have decided not to continue with any further talks on the matter.

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“The French brand has a power of veto over any sale of the Otro shares until September, and would have used that to block any sale to a group that had links with Horner.”

This comes amid the 52-year-old’s first new role since leaving Red Bull last year, as he has been engaged by Oakley Capital as an advisor on the firm’s investments in premium sports.

The London-based private equity firm said Mr Horner will work with its investment team to spot and realise deals in what is now one of the fiercest battlegrounds in Europe’s private markets.

Founder Peter Dubens said: “Christian Horner is widely recognised as a highly successful leader in global sport.

“His track record, expertise and commercial instinct will be invaluable as we continue to scale our sports portfolio.”