Team boss sees 'no point of closing doors' should Horner approach

Williams Racing Team Principal James Vowles explained during the Friday press conference that former Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, did not approach the British team.

During the Friday press conference about Horner's potential return to F1 in 2026, Vowles shut down a question about Red Bull boss approaching Williams Racing with a simple "no."

When asked if he would welcome a conversation with Horner, Vowles said: "I think you should always welcome a conversation. There’s no point closing the door.

"But I think we are very happy with the structure we have, and it’s working. So I don’t see any reason to make any changes to that."

Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen followed suit, claiming that conversations between Flavio Briatore and Horner may have taken place, but there is "no truth" in paddock rumours.

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen in Red Bull's garage - Photo: Race Pictures

"As far as I know, no," Nielsen said, "but Flavio and Christian are old friends, that’s no secret.

"What they’ve talked about, I don’t know. But everything I see and everything I know, there’s no truth in Christian coming to Alpine.

"But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. This is Formula 1 after all."

Did Horner approach Haas F1?

During the media day in Singapore, Haas F1 team boss Ayao Komatsu commented on Horner approaching his team.

“Yes it’s true that he approached us. And then one of our guys had an exploratory, let’s say, a talk. Then that’s it. Then nothing’s gone any further," he said.

GPblog understands it was not Horner who initially approached the American team. There was no direct contact from him; rather, an intermediary reached out to both Horner and a representative of team owner Gene Haas.

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