Brown says Horner F1 return would be a positive, more A-B teams not so much

McLaren team principal Zak Brown says it would be great to have Christian Horner back in Formula 1, amid speculation linking the ousted Red Bull team principal and CEO to Alpine, while also expressing concerns about the risks of consolidation in team ownership.

Horner (pictured at left, above, with Brown) has not been involved in F1 since being removed at Red Bull last year, but is believed to have held talks with Aston Martin since then, as well as being associated with a consortium interested in purchasing a stake in Alpine. Brown and Horner often clashed as leaders of their respective teams, but the American expects to see Horner return at some stage.

“I think Christian was a great personality for the sport,” Brown said. "Sport always has great personalities. They come and go. I think it'd be great to have Christian back in the sport. He's a great operator. His track record speaks for itself.

“I'd rather have 10 weak team principals, but that's not going to happen anytime soon. And there's huge talent that's coming up all the time. There's been a lot of team principal moves here in the last two to three years.

“But I think it'd be great to have him back in the sport. And I'm sure given his passion for the sport and his age, I'd be shocked if he wasn't back in the sport, whether it was with Alpine or someone else.”

The Alpine link comes at a time when Mercedes and and its team chief Toto Wolff have also been evaluating a bid for the Otro Capital stake that is up for sale, but Brown says he is against multi-ownership in F1, having voiced concerns relating to Red Bull and Racing Bulls in the past.

“[My stance] hasn't changed at all. I think I've been consistent," Brown said. "This is now my ninth season or so. I think A-B teams, we need to get away from as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

“I think it runs a real high risk of compromising the integrity of sporting fairness, which is coming back to the earlier question [of if the 2026 regulations could alienate fans], what would turn fans off is if they don't feel like there's 11 independent racing teams.

“I've been vocal about it from day one. We've seen it play out on track in a sporting way. Daniel Ricciardo taking the fastest lap point away from us to help the other team. We've seen IP violations on the Aston Martin/Racing Point on brake ducts. We've seen employees move overnight, where we either have to wait and sometimes make financial deals, which then impacts us on the cost cap.

“So when you see other teams that move from one to the other, and then also without financial compensation, that's an unfair financial advantage. That's an unfair sporting advantage. We've seen Ferrari and Haas move people back and forth. We know IP is a lot in your head.

“Can you imagine a Premier League [soccer] game where you've got two teams owned by the same group? One's going to get relegated if they lose. The other can afford to lose… And that's what we run the risk of.

“So I think having engine power units as suppliers is as far as it should go. And then in my view, all 11 teams should be absolutely as independent as possible, because I think it has a high risk and we have seen it compromise the integrity of the sport. And that will be what turns fans off quicker than anything else.”