McLaren boss, Zak Brown believes that F1 would benefit from the return of Christian Horner, what with his personality and track record.

"I think Christian was a great personality for the sport," said the American. "Sport always has great personalities," he continued. "They come and go. But I think it'd be great to have Christian back in the sport. He's a great operator. His track record speaks for itself.

"I'd rather have ten weak team principals," he added, "but that's not going to happen anytime soon. There's huge talent that's coming up, you know, all the time. There's been a lot of team principal moves here in the last two to three years, but I think it'd be great to have him back in the sport. And I'm sure given his passion for the sport and his age, I'd be shocked if he wasn't back in the sport, whether it was with Alpine or someone else."

Strange, but is the same man that said Red Bull, and indeed F1, were in a "healthier place" following Horner's sacking last July?

Indeed, while Horner and Toto Wolff shared a mutual respect for one another, it was always clear that the same did not apply to Brown and the Briton, so why the change of heart?

Well, as ever, it's all about self-interest and agendas, for while Horner is seeking to buy a stake in Alpine, so too is Mercedes, and that concerns Brown greatly.

Horner headed Red Bull, which has a 'sister' team in the shape of Racing Bulls, and Brown is concerned that a stake in Alpine would give Mercedes a similar 'advantage'.

"I think A/B teams, we need to get away from as much as possible, as quickly as possible," said the American. "I've been vocal about it from day one. We've seen it play out on track in a sporting way, Daniel Ricardo taking a fastest lap point away from us to help the other team.

"We've seen IP violations on the Aston Martin/Racing Point on brake ducts," he continued. "We've seen employees move between teams overnight, where we either have to wait or sometimes make financial deals, which then impacts us in the cost cap. So when you see other teams that move people from one to the other, and then also without financial compensation, that's an unfair financial advantage. That's an unfair sporting advantage. We've seen Ferrari and Haas move people back and forth.

"Can you imagine a Premier League game, and you've got two teams owned by the same group, one's going to get relegated if they lose, the other can afford to lose, that's what we run the risk of. I think having engine power units as suppliers is as far as it should go.

"In my view, all eleven teams should absolutely be as independent as possible, because I think it has a high risk, and we have seen it compromise the integrity of the sport, and that will be what turns fans off quicker than anything else."

Referring to the Red Bull teams, he said: "I'm glad to see that the Racing Bulls and Red Bull don't look like the same race car. I've had these conversations with Laurent, and I'm not picking on him in particular, but he's the only one who's got two teams, and he's been very open and transparent. I think they recognise it and don't want to push the envelope.

"There were discussions in the Concord Agreement about, should, over time, one of the teams be divested, but I also have a huge appreciation for what Red Bull has done for the sport and how that was done a long time ago. But certainly, adding to it, I think would be a mistake for the sport."

Returning to the subject of Horner, one can be sure that the Briton would be defending his team's corner at present, and not allowing Toto Wolff to get away with some of the things he appears to be getting away with.

While one can empathise, to a degree, with Brown, and let's not forget Dietrich Mateschitz was bankrolling two teams when it was absolutely vital for the sport, it is up to team principals to stand their ground and speak out, and, Alpine aside, Wolff already has a willing ally in Williams and James Vowles.