Horner spent much of the rest of 2025 meeting with potential investors to return to F1, with Alpine's stake up for sale. Mercedes is also interested in buying into Alpine, but team principal Toto Wolff said he is not showing interest just to stop Horner. Wolff described Horner as 'the bad' of F1 and said he has 'broken a lot of glass'.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown is enthusiastic about Horner's potential return, calling him a 'great operator' and 'great personality for the sport', according to Daily Express - Sport. However, Brown also described their rivalry as 'vicious' and said 'there's no love lost'. The rivalry stems partly from Red Bull's 2021 budget cap breach, after which Brown wrote to the FIA calling it 'cheating' and arguing for a harsher penalty.
Christian was a great personality for the sport. Sport always has great personalities. They come and go. I think it'd be great to have Christian back in the sport. He's a great operator. His track record speaks for itself.
The FIA reduced Red Bull's wind tunnel time as punishment, a move Horner was 'appalled' by. Meanwhile, McLaren has enjoyed recent success: Lando Norris won the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix from Max Verstappen, and McLaren won the 2024 Constructors' Championship.
There's no love lost there, I don't like how he rolls and I have no doubt he feels the same about me. But I think it's good for the sport. You need different characters. You need these rivalries. Some are friendly, sporting rivalries. Some are a bit more vicious. It's always been like that.