Zak Brown buries the hatchet amid Christian Horner F1 return talks

The former Red Bull team principal and CEO has been out of the sport for nearly a year now, following the shock of his dismissal last July, as he weighs up his next move and whether it could involve a role with broader responsibilities than a traditional team principal position.

Speaking to GPblog and other media, McLaren CEO Zak Brown stressed that a figure like Horner would be a major asset to Formula 1, pointing to his proven track record and underlining his status as one of the sport’s most influential and capable operators.

Christian Horner is now fully free to return to Formula 1 after officially serving out the terms of his Red Bull exit. The former team principal spent months away from the paddock following his dismissal, but as of April 9 he is once again eligible to take up a role in the sport.

That does not mean an immediate comeback is on the cards, however. Horner has yet to secure a new position and is understood to be targeting a role that goes beyond the usual team principal remit. Rather than returning in a purely managerial capacity, he is believed to want a stake in a team as part of any future deal.

One option linked to him in recent months was Alpine, where Horner was reportedly interested in acquiring a minority shareholding. No agreement appears to have been reached so far, although nothing has been confirmed publicly.