Christian Horner F1 return could be 'THREE years' away as £1.5billion backers emerge

Christian Horner's return to F1 seems inevitable, but the manner and timing of it remains anything but.

The deposed Red Bull team principal has been doing the rounds of the paddock as he looks to step back into the sport, with his gardening leave set to end in April next year.

However, one frequently-cited sticking point for his return is that he reportedly wants at least a part ownership stake in whichever teams he comes back to the grid with - and with Red Bull and presumably Racing Bulls off the cards, that leaves just nine potential homes.

The Times report that Horner has been approached by a number of investors willing to back him in a bid to buy 'anything up to 100 per cent of a team', a move which would require at least £1.5bn, although one of the 'big four' (McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull) seems beyond their current reach.

Who will Christian Horner's next team be?

Team owners across the sport seem especially reluctant to sell up right now, with business booming and the possibility that 2026 regulation changes could vault a backmarker up to the front of the grid.

As such, another possibility is discussed - one which the sport's leaders are not necessarily rejecting out of hand.

That possibility is that Horner and his backers form an entirely new 12th team. That would obviously prove more of a logistical challenge than buying out an existing operation, but would give him a level of control he could only dream about at Red Bull.

One sticking point, assuming that Horner has the levels of hubris required to believe he can overcome the decades of evidence that setting up a new team is a recipe for failure, is that the above publication are reporting that such a path would take at least three years to get him back on the grid.

His apparent urgency to return to the sport may not allow for that.

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