Christian Horner's future takes surprise twist with F1 team new favourites to recruit former Red Bull boss

Christian Horner's Formula 1 future has taken a surprising turn, with a new team emerging as favourites to sign the former Red Bull boss.

Horner was dismissed earlier this month following a turbulent 18 months in charge of Red Bull.

Although Max Verstappen won last year's drivers' championship, the team have faced persistent issues with the second seat.

Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have all struggled to deliver consistent results over the past two seasons.

It has left Red Bull fourth in this year's constructor's standings, with speculation around Verstappen's own future growing in recent weeks.

In response to the team's struggles, Red Bull executives opted for a change of team principal and replaced Horner with Laurent Mekies.

But Horner is already being linked with a return to the sport he has worked in for more than 20 years.

Christian Horner is being tipped to complete a quick return to the sport. (Image: Rudy Carezzevoli / Stringer via Getty)

Several teams, including Ferrari, Alpine and the new Cadillac team have all been reportedly interested.

But Ferrari are now out of the running for Horner's signature.

On Thursday morning, they agreed a new multi-year contract extension with team principal Fred Vasseur, whose deal was set to expire at the end of the year.

The Frenchman, who took over the role in 2023, has overseen six Grand Prix wins during his tenure but has been unable to mount a championship fight.

With Ferrari no longer in the frame, Aston Martin have emerged as the strong favourites to sign Horner.

AceOdds have Aston Martin leading the betting at odds of 7/4, with Cadillac now second favourites at 9/2.

If he made the move to Aston Martin, it would see Horner link up with his former chief engineer Adrian Newey.

Fred Vasseur will continue at Ferrari. (Image: Getty)

Why have Ferrari recommitted to Fred Vasseur?

Vasseur's tenure at Ferrari tenure has produced mixed results so far.

In his first season in charge in 2023, Ferrari were the only team other than Red Bull to win a Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz victorious in Singapore.

The team built on that last year by winning five times, including three race wins for Charles Leclerc and two for Sainz.

At the end of the season, Vasseur made a controversial move to replace Sainz with the legendary Lewis Hamilton.

But they have struggled this year, with Hamilton's sprint race victory in China early in the season their only triumph to date.

Leclerc finished second in his home Monaco GP but neither driver have been able to compete with the dominant McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.