Christian Horner says Red Bull know they mishandled his ‘brutal’ sacking

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Christian Horner has returned to the Formula 1 paddock for the first time since he was sacked by Red Bull around a year ago.

Ironically, the British Grand Prix was Horner’s final race in charge last year. He had been with the team for 20 years, overseeing eight title-winning seasons.

The attention around Horner’s return underlines just how big a figure he had become within the sport. He was greeted by a mass of cameras and media when he arrived at the circuit, with former Red Bull press officer Alice Hedworth in tow.

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Christian Horner: Red Bull recognise that they should have done things differently

Speaking to The Times, Horner insisted that he had no ‘ill feeling’ over his ‘abrupt’ exit. However, he thinks that Red Bull would do things differently if they had another chance.

Red Bull didn’t communicate a reason for their decision, either internally or to the public.

Helmut Marko, another of the team’s leading figures, left by mutual consent at the end of the year, and perhaps Horner felt he deserved that courtesy.

“It was particularly abrupt and pretty brutal, my departure,” he reflected. “So, I didn’t have a great deal of time to think about it, and it all happened rather quickly, but it was what it was.

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“I think there’s probably a bit of recognition that it could have been handled a bit differently. But life goes on. I don’t bear any ill feeling to anyone.”

Horner has been eligible to work for another team since the spring under the lucrative settlement he negotiated with Red Bull last year.

He has been linked most strongly with Aston Martin and Alpine, while there has also been talk that he could front a new entrant, potentially Chinese car manufacturer BYD.

The consistent message has been that he is open to returning to the sport, but won’t do so for the sake of it. He wants to be offered a compelling project, and a stake in the team too.