Jeremy Clarkson shares private Christian Horner text after sack and picks next F1 team

Jeremy Clarkson has revealed the supportive text message he sent to Christian Horner following the announcement of his sacking from Red Bull. The star of Clarkson's Farm, a fervent Formula 1 enthusiast, also speculated on which team might be next for his friend.

Horner had been at the helm of Red Bull for two decades, having been appointed team principal from the outset when the energy drink titan first ventured into F1. His tenure saw immense success, transforming a mid-tier team into one of the sport's powerhouses, clinching eight drivers' championships and an additional six teams' titles.

However, his downfall came following dismal performances at the Austrian and British Grands Prix. Just days after the Silverstone race, the shocking news emerged that Horner had been dismissed from his roles as team principal and chief executive, and put on gardening leave.

Clarkson, familiar with abrupt departures after long-standing iconic roles, was a co-host of Top Gear for over a decade until 2015, when the BBC decided not to renew his contract following an altercation with a producer on the show.

In his column for The Sun, Clarkson penned: "I spent a bit of time with Christian at the Grand Prix on Sunday and it was plain he had no inkling at all that the bullet was coming. He was with his 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, whose mother had just died of eye cancer. And we mostly talked about that and how the poor little mite was coping.

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"I suppose one upside of his sacking is that her dad will be around a lot more. Or will he? I sent him a text after the news of his dismissal broke, pointing out that I've been in his shoes in the past.

"I explained that when you wake the following morning, it's easy to think, 'Well, that's that, then'. But in my case, that wasn't that. I hadn't trodden on a snake. I'd trodden on a ladder. And I bet he does, too."

Clarkson proceeded to muse over Horner's potential future prospects, noting the team principal has previously caught Ferrari's attention and has been connected with struggling outfit Alpine. He observed: "The clever money is saying he'll go to Alpine, but next year they will have Mercedes engines which means Christian would have to work with Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff.

"And as those two really don't get on, I can't see that happening. Ferrari? Possibly, but that would mean upping sticks and moving to Italy. And dealing with Sir Hamilton. Audi is coming into the sport next year, and Cadillac. And there's talk the Chinese are making F1 noises, and all of them would jump at the chance of getting Horner.

"The thing is, though, that as I proved after the Beeb let me go, you don't necessarily have to do what you were doing before. I became a farmer. So on that basis, Christian Horner might re-emerge in a couple of years as an astronaut, or in an ice-cream van or as a Foreign Secretary."