Brown and Horner famously butted heads during their joint time as powerbrokers in the sport, a rivalry amplified by Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
The dynamic came to a sudden end midway through last year, though, when Horner was ousted from the Red Bull Racing organisation after two decades at the helm.
There is now fresh speculation of a Horner return via an ownership stake in the Alpine squad, something Brown says he would welcome for the good of F1.
“Christian was a great personality for the sport,” said Brown.
“Sport always has great personalities. 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 10 weak team principals, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
“And there’s huge talent that’s coming up all the time. There’s been a lot of team principal moves in the last two to three years.
“But I think it’d be great to have [Horner] back in the sport, and given his passion for the sport and his age, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t back in the sport, whether it is with Alpine or or someone else.”
Horner isn’t the only party linked to a buy-in to Alpine, with Mercedes and Toto Wolff also rumoured to be interested in a stake in the Enstone squad.
That has put the matter of common ownership between F1 teams in the spotlight once again.
As it stands the only example is Red Bull’s ownership of both its primary team and its junior team, Racing Bulls.
That is generally tolerated by the rest of the paddock, however Brown is clear on his views against the concept as a whole and how Mercedes investing in Alpine would be a mistake.
“I think A/B teams, we need to get away from as much as possible, as quickly as possible,” he said.
“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.
“We’ve seen employees move [between sister 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 11 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.”
Brown clarified that he is willing to tolerate Red Bull owning two teams as long as F1 and the FIA closely monitor how those teams work together.
“I’m glad to see that the Racing Bulls and Red Bull don’t look like the same race car,” he said.
“I’ve had these conversations with [Red Bull Racing boss] Laurent [Mekies], 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.”
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