Official statement released on Christian Horner F1 return

The 52-year-old lives on the Oxfordshire border near Banbury with Spice Girl singer Geri Halliwell, whom he married in 2015.

Mr Horner had been team principal at Red Bull since 2005, overseeing eight drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

But this all came to an end last year when his team let him go mid-season over performance-related issues with the team.

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Now, there has been another twist in the Christian Horner Formula 1 comeback saga.

This is after a senior Renault figure moved to play down talk of any deal with the former Red Bull team principal.

Mr Horner has repeatedly been linked with a possible move to Alpine, in part because he is understood to want an ownership stake in any new F1 project he joins.

Speculation intensified when it emerged that investor Otro Capital was looking to offload its 24 per cent holding in the Enstone‑based squad, with many in the paddock tipping Horner as a potential buyer.

Those plans appeared to hit a snag when Mercedes was revealed as interested in snapping up the shareholding, but the German marque has since stepped back from a deal, seemingly reopening the path for Horner.

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Now, though, the majority owner, Renault Group – which controls the remaining 76 per cent of Alpine – has cast doubt on the rumours by insisting that no talks with Horner are taking place.

Renault Group CEO Francois Provost told the Press Association they are still weighing up their options, saying: “There is no discussion today with Christian.

“We are assessing the options. I want the Renault Group to keep the control of our team, whoever could be the successor of Otro.

“I saw there are no further discussions [with Mercedes] now. I was not so satisfied to see that we are not progressing.

“But I would like to make two comments about this. The first one is that this Otro issue doesn’t impact us at all as a team because we are in control.

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“And the second point is that we will keep the control of our Formula 1 team. Alpine is an independent team, and we intend to keep control.”

It was reported earlier this month that Mr Horner has secured his first major role since his departure from Red Bull, according to Business Matters magazine.

The British publication reports that the 52-year-old has now been engaged by Oakley Capital as an advisor on the firm’s investments in premium sports.

London-based private equity firm Oakley Capital, founded by serial entrepreneur Peter Dubens, said Mr Horner will work with its investment team to spot and realise deals in what is now one of the fiercest battlegrounds in Europe’s private markets.