Horner says no F1 deal yet

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.