Aston Martin's Chief States Horner Is Reaching Out to 'Every Team Owner' in Formula One About a Role
The former Red Bull boss Christian Horner is reportedly engaged in a focused campaign to stage a comeback to F1, with Aston Martin's chief, Andy Cowell, stating that Horner was recently in contact with “pretty much every team owner”.
Settlement Terms Enable Quick Return
Horner was let go by Red Bull in July and his settlement with the team allows him to come back in the initial stages of next year. Aston Martin are seen as a possible option for Horner, who claimed 14 titles with Red Bull during his 20 years in charge, but Cowell, who also serves as CEO of the team, stated firmly they were not interested.
“It seems like Christian has been phoning pretty much every team owner at the moment,” he said at the Singapore GP. “I can definitely state there are no plans for the engagement of Christian in an management or investment role in the future.”
Eager Comeback Following Rocky Departure
Horner is understood to be eager to return to the sport. His time at Red Bull wrapped up after a year and a half of upheaval that had started when he was faced allegations of “improper conduct” by a female colleague. Charges which he refuted and for which he was found not guilty twice by an external inquiry.
Haas F1 Also Contacted
Prior to the race weekend in Singapore began, the Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, confirmed Horner had been in touch with his team. “It is correct that he approached us,” he noted. “One of our team members had an preliminary chat and nothing more. Nothing has gone any further. It has concluded.”
Marina Bay Practice See Varied Results
In practice sessions at the Marina Bay track, Fernando Alonso topped the leaderboard in the first session, but in the more indicative evening second free practice, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was the pace-setter.
His title rival Lando Norris, though, labored to minimal gain under the floodlights. He fell behind after taking nose damage when Charles Leclerc pulled out into the McLaren in the pits, and could only achieve fifth, almost a 0.5 seconds down on Piastri, making the UK racer disappointed at his performance. “The car isn't half-a-second off, my driving is the issue,” he told race engineer Will Joseph.
