Christian Horner isn’t afraid to make a scene. His return to the paddock at Silverstone a year on from being axed by Red Bull in the wake of the last British Grand Prix certainly felt like no coincidence.
Horner’s argument was the race was a local one for him and he hadn’t missed it since 1993, but it felt very much like him declaring he was still here, relevant and available for the next Formula 1 opportunity.
Where that may be remains to be seen, but there have been links to Alpine, Aston Martin and even a new 12th team on the grid. Added to that came the announcement that Horner’s autobiography would be coming out in the autumn – a chance to tell his story in full.
But 12 months on from his post-Silverstone departure, where do Red Bull find themselves now?
If we wind the clock back to 2025, Max Verstappen had just endured a torrid race, spinning in the wet before eventually clambering his way back up to fifth. Two races later, he claimed his hopes of the title or even winning a race were effectively nil.
