Christian Horner made his first appearance in the F1 paddock since leaving Red Bull Racing last year and addressed his potential future in the sport during an interview with Sky Sports’ Craig Slater.
Horner was relieved of his duties as Red Bull team principal 48 hours after last year’s event at Silverstone and the 52-year-old has not been in an F1 paddock since.
Horner had previously said he has “unfinished business” in F1 following his success with Red Bull where he oversaw eight world drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles.
More recently he has been linked with Alpine, Aston Martin and also Chinese car manufacturer BYD to lead a possible 12th team on the grid.
“It’s the first time I’ve been back. It’s great to be back here at Silverstone,” Horner told Sky Sports. “Ultimately, I’m a fan so [with] the British Grand Prix in town, I’ve not missed one since ’93 so it’s good to be here.
When asked whether he was closing in on a timeframe to return to Formula 1, Horner revealed he was enjoying his time away and would only come back for the right opportunity.
“Look, I’ve enjoyed my time out,” he added. “I did 20 years straight with the Red Bull guys, I was doing other stuff before that so it’s the first time I’ve ever a bit of time to get off the hamster wheel.
“But look, I’d only look at doing the right thing, something that had an opportunity to win at the end of the day. The great thing is, is that Formula 1 is in a great place.
“The racing has been super this year. Sitting back and watching it from behind the scenes and the interest in Formula 1 is sky high. There’s so much interest of people who want to get involved in Formula 1 so we’ll see. We’ll see. I’m in no rush.”
The former Red Bull boss also addressed the speculation linking him to other teams including the rumours about Alpine and BYD.
He added: “BYD are a huge entity, a huge company. There’s so much speculation; I think I’ve been going to every team on the grid so far. I’m just here to enjoy the race and am here as a fan today.
“It’s [Aston Martin] a great British brand and it’s sad to see them really struggling as they are but there’s so much speculation. One week it’s Aston, the next it’s Alpine, the next it’s somewhere else. But I wish them all well today.”
