Former Red Bull chief Christian Horner has addressed rumours of a return to F1 with Alpine, saying he would "look at it very strongly" if the offer came along

Christian Horner has confirmed that he would "strongly" consider the offer of a return to F1.

Horner was sacked by Red Bull last summer after 20 years as team principal and CEO. Red Bull company accounts recently revealed he received a £67million pay-out, yet the 52-year-old remains keen to return to the paddock.

Despite being away from the sport for 18 months, Horner's name has remained in the headlines, with his public flirtation with Ferrari prompting a major reaction. Horner described a move to the constructor as a "dream", forcing Ferrari to issue a statement backing team principal Fred Vasseur.

And with a new book to promote called Drive, which is released on October 26, Horner is continuing to draw attention in the F1 world. One of his possible avenues back into the sport came via talks with Alpine over buying a stake earlier this year.

Addressing the possibility, Horner told Sky Sports: “You’ve got 11 teams currently in F1. The value of those teams have all increased dramatically. If the right opportunity in a team existed, I’d certainly consider it seriously.

“Right here, right now, I don’t see that at Alpine. All of those teams should be striving to win, and obviously they’re all very different in character and make-up. If the opportunity opens up, I’ll certainly look at it very strongly. But if I don’t, then I’m comfortable with that.”

Horner previously courted controversy by openly hinting at a job with Ferrari. "Would I consider Ferrari?" he said. "I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula 1. It's the dream. And arguably it's the sleeping giant of Formula 1."

He has now opened up on the fallout to that interview, which piled pressure onto Ferrari team principal Vasseur. “I did feel very sorry for [Vasseur] with the speculation it created because it came out of an interview about a month prior to when it was released, and it coincided, I think, with comments that were made at the track with a couple of the drivers," he said.

“It kind of ran away with itself. I was trying to be respectful to Ferrari and say that it’s different to other teams and it has a different standing in the sport.

“Having led a competitive team and knowing the scrutiny it creates, I felt sorry for Fred that it did it did create that much that much scrutiny and that much coverage at a time that obviously they were having a bit of a hard time.”

Horner, who is married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, has also been linked with a move to Aston Martin, who already have ex-Red Bull designer Adrian Newey on board.

In 20 years with Red Bull he oversaw eight drivers and six constructors championships and it seems he isn't ready for retirement yet.