Horner to 'Look Closely' at Jaguar Opportunity

Arden International boss Christian Horner confirmed on Friday that he will pursue an interest in purchasing Jaguar Racing to enter Formula One after Ford announced the team are up for sale.

Horner, whose team currently races in Formula 3000, has been vocal in chasing a place on the Grand Prix grid this year and was not surprised when Jaguar became a viable option.

"We have had chats at various points of the year and it's been fairly obvious for some time that things were precariously placed," said Horner. "But we had to wait for them to decide.

"We have had talks reasonably recently but basically we were waiting to hear what Ford's position was. That is obviously a decision that has been taken internally and it creates an interesting scenario.

"I am sure it has (been a surprise for the workforce). It is a great shame to lose the Jaguar brand from Formula One, but understandably they have got a lot of problems in general and it would be hard to justify a Formula One project.

"Obviously it creates an element of opportunity and one that we will look at very carefully. To join Formula One has been our objective over the last 12 or 18 months. We will look very closely at it."

Horner has turned his Arden team into the Ferrari of Formula 3000 over the last two years and has won the drivers' and constructors' titles on both occasions with Swede Bjorn Wirdheim last year and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi this season.

But he said the Jaguar deal may not be the ideal platform for him to come into Formula One and suggested he wants time to develop a strong financial package to run the team before making a commitment.

"Evidently they are looking to have things resolved by the end of the year or prior to that," said Horner. "We'll look at it and see if it fits within our strategy or whether it is achievable.

"I am the one who is associated the most but that's probably because I have been the most vocal about wanting to gain entry. I am sure there are other entities out there that will look very closely at it.

"It might not be our only opportunity and there would be no point for us to rush in and do something for a short-term solution with no long-term objective. There is no point coming in for 12 months to go spectacularly bust at the end of it.

"We are looking at a long-term strategy, what would give us the best platform for the future as opposed than an immediate solution because it's available but not necessarily viable in the long term."