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Christian Horner has been told to forget Ferrari and create his own slice of the Formula One pie. Horner, 52, is exploring ways back into the paddock and most recently said joining the Scuderia would be "the dream". But he has also been linked to Chinese carmaker BYD's potential bid to create what would be F1's 12th team. And double F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi thinks that would be Horner's best route back into the sport.
Speaking to Express Sport, via Betway, he said: "There's a lot of talk about a Chinese team coming in. The Chinese car industry is booming, and they have three or four very strong groups that want to be in Formula One.
"I would love to see 24 cars on the grid and so would the spectators, I'm sure. And bringing a Chinese team into F1 would be outstanding. Christian Horner would be a great guy to start a new team. With all his experience, he would be the perfect guy to develop a brand-new team into Formula One."
Horner previously explored buying the 24 percent stake available in the Alpine team. But that deal is dead due to vast differences in valuation, while majority owners Renault are not interested in working with Horner's consortium.
However, in a new interview with The Guardian, he reiterated his desite to put the financial backing he has put together to good use in the F1 world. He also clarified his comments about joining Ferrari, claiming: "My comments got taken out of context."
He added: "Fred Vasseur is an experienced guy. He's done a decent job but I, more than anyone, know the pressures of running a competitive organisation. Ferrari is the biggest brand in F1, it's the most historic team.
"But I've accumulated some phenomenal capital behind me, to look at the next move I potentially make in the sport. That would be with ownership attached to it and Ferrari aren't going to sell shares.
"So I'm happy to sit outside the sport and see what opportunities present themselves over the coming months or years. It's not a prerequisite that I go back. I would only return for the right opportunity with like-minded people that want to win. I would never go back just to take part."
BYD are known to have serious interest in joining F1 and, while it is not a manufacturer with heritage or motorsport pedigree, there is no denying the relevance the Chinese carmaker has in today's automotive market. That will be appealling to F1 bosses, but FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem insists any deal for another team to join would have to be on the sport's terms.
He said: "The FIA can open for a 12th team, but, 'Do we need a team, Mr President?' No, we don't need a team, we need the team. We have three races in America and the United States, and we have a manufacturer, we have Haas, but we needed an OEM. So I said, and even the promoter agrees that we need the team, and the team has to come from China.
"I had meetings with [other manufacturers] and they came and they said, we need to be in. And one of them was BYD, and one was Geely. And we said, 'OK, we will open the expression of interest if you are coming'. But the regulations is not going to be affected only by Chinese [manufacturers]. We cannot do this. The regulations have to stay permanent, and it has to [keep] stability in it."
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