The former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been engaged in a concerted effort to make a return to Formula One, with the Aston Martin team principal, Andy Cowell, asserting that Horner had recently been in contact with “pretty much every team owner”.
Horner was dismissed by Red Bull in July and his settlement with the team allows him to return in the early part of next year. Aston Martin are considered a potential destination for Horner, who won 14 titles with Red Bull during his 20 years in charge but Cowell, who is also CEO of the team, insisted they were not interested.
“It looks as though Christian is ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment,” he said at the Singapore Grand Prix. “I can clearly say there are no plans for the involvement of Christian in an operational or investment role in the future.”
Horner is understood to be eager to return to the sport. His tenure at Red Bull ended after a year and a half of turbulence that had begun when he was accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague. Allegations which he denied and for which he was twice exonerated by an independent investigation.
Before the weekend in Singapore began the Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, also said Horner had been in touch with his team. “It is true that he approached us,” he said. “One of our guys had an exploratory talk and that’s it. Nothing has gone any further. It is finished.”
In practice at the Marina Bay circuit, Fernando Alonso topped the time sheets in the first session but in the more representative night running second free practice, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was quickest.
His title rival Lando Norris however toiled to little effect under the floodlights. He lost time after taking front wing damage when Charles Leclerc was released into the McLaren in the pit lane and could manage only fifth, almost a half a second down on Piastri, leaving the British driver frustrated at his performance. “The car is not half a second off, my driving is,” he told race engineer Will Joseph.
