Horner says no F1 deal yet
Championship winning International F3000 team boss Christian Horner remains committed to finding a way to make the jump to Formula 1 next season - but speculation of an imminent deal with Jordan is premature
Reports in British newspapers on Tuesday morning have linked Horner with a buy-out of the Jordan team, amid growing suggestions that team boss Eddie Jordan is looking to sell his outfit because of the struggle to raise the necessary finance to compete.
But speaking to autosport.com, Horner made it clear that while he has held talks with Jordan and other teams about possible buy-outs, the chances of a deal being pulled off imminently is unlikely. The discussions are only believed to be at an early stage.
Horner's hopes of building an F1 team from scratch have now been put on the backburner because the $48 million deposit new teams need to lodge is too big a hurdle to overcome. His only option now is to purchase an existing team.
He said: "I have had discussions with teams because it is abundantly clear that if the $48 million bond is not removed then the only way to come into F1 is to take on an existing team.
"Obviously we are looking at all the options and there are three teams that have uncertainty over their long-term future."
It is understood that Horner is referring to Jordan, Minardi and Jaguar - all of which are understood to be for sale if the right deal can be put on the table. Jordan would likely be the most favoured option because of its location and size.
Horner did suggest that although talks with the teams will continue, he would be willing to bide his time to make sure the right infrastructure could be put in place, rather than rush in purely to be on the grid for the start of 2005.
"We want to come up with a long-term solution, rather than just rush in over the next 12 months," he added. "We are keen to use our success in F3000 as a springboard to F1, but at the same time we are also 100 percent committed to the new GP2 series."
Jordan has been linked to a possible buy-out by Dubai investors, but talks appear to have stalled over recent weeks.
Ekstrom joins World RX as sporting director for 2023 season
One-time World RallyCross Championship title-winner Mattias Ekstrom will join the series promoter as sporting director ahead of its second season of its full-electric regulations.
FIA president Ben Sulayem steps back from day-to-day F1 operations
The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has stepped back from the day-to-day running of Formula 1 ahead of the new season.
Why the Hyderabad E-Prix is only a first step in India's motorsport emergence
OPINION: Motor racing still has some way to go to usurp cricket as India's favourite sporting discipline. The long-awaited return of international motorsport to the country this weekend with the Hyderabad E-Prix is an important step in the right direction, but it will take more than Formula E's arrival to cause a true shift
Supercars teams alter Gen3 testing plans; DJR, MSR call off Queensland test
There have been more postponements to teams Gen3 testing with both Dick Johnson Racing and Matt Stone Racing calling off Thursday running.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.