Christian Horner Linked With Shock Return to F1 Hours After Las Vegas GP Ends

A Formula One team are poised to make a change that could see Christian Horner back in the sport following on from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen claimed pole position in Sin City, with Lando Norris of McLaren initially taking second to remain in the driving seat for the 2025 title.

Mercedes' George Russell completed the podium, with Oscar Piastri having to settle for fourth spot and now 30 points behind teammate Norris with two races remaining.

There could be a major twist, however, with Norris and Piastri later disqualified from the race after the FIA confirmed their cars did not pass the skid block test.

Already many F1 teams are thinking about next season when the all-important new regulations come in, but ahead of becoming Honda's engine partner next term - it's emerged that Aston Martin are not wasting any time and are set to get rid of chief executive officer Andy Cowell.

Aston Martin are seventh in the constructors' rankings, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll 13th and 15th respectively.

But according to widespread reports, Cowell's stint is coming to an end after just over a year.

As per the BBC, he has been at odds with managing technical partner Adrian Newey and the power struggle could see owner Lawrence Stroll pull the plug on Cowell, who could still remain involved in the organisation - just not holding a position as CEO and team principal.

Horner's demands to join Aston Martin

If he is relieved of his duties, he would be the fourth senior leader to be given the boot and his departure would come after seven design engineers left as part of a major overhaul.

Horner, who was integral in Red Bull's success before being sacked in July following a drop in performance levels, is a leading contender for the gig and would want a leadership role as well as shareholding privileges.

Horner could make a sensational return to Formula One. Image: Getty

He is not the only name in the race though, with former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl, Audi's F1 chief Mattia Binotto and Martin Whitmarsh, a former Aston Martin CEO, in the mix.

It has also been suggested that Stroll may not even bring in a replacement at all and instead control proceedings himself.

Horner's sacking came following the British Grand Prix and in September, he received around £53 million after a settlement was agreed.

He and Newey were colleagues at Red Bull but the legendary F1 designer left in the wake of Horner's allegations.

He was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee and though two internal investigations cleared him, it caused many issues within the organisation.

Horner and Newey fell out to the point where the latter reportedly did not want to be in the same room as him - though they did appear to patch things up as they attended an Oasis concert in the summer.