Christian Horner said he "felt sorry" for Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur when speculation linking Horner to replacing him surfaced last month.
The release of an interview Horner conducted with The Times - which took place before Ferrari's tricky home race at Monza in September, and in which he called Ferrari "the biggest brand in Formula 1", "the dream" and a "sleeping giant" - sparked rumours of Horner being a potential candidate to replace Vasseur, whose role at the squad had been under scrutiny.
It even led to a remarkable Ferrari press conference to quash speculation and publicly declare its confidence in Vasseur.
Horner was asked about the rumours linking him to joining Ferrari when he appeared on The Race F1 Podcast.
"The timing of it all was very unfortunate," Horner told The Race.
"I did an interview where they were serialising the book with a very pleasant chap, that was a big Lewis Hamilton fan. He came and had a chat and wasn't from the industry, but was a fan of the sport.
"He was talking about different teams and so on. And we talked about Ferrari. And Ferrari is different to the other teams. Ferrari, you can see the way that drivers and people hold it in huge esteem and with huge respect. And I was trying to be respectful to Ferrari.
"This interview was done about probably a month in advance of when it actually came out. It happened to coincide, I think, with some comments that were made around Monza or Madrid or whatever.
"Suddenly there was a headline that ran on this article that was talking about, 'Ferrari is my dream'. I never actually said that. I was trying to say that Ferrari has its unique place in the sport, and anybody that works for that team would see it as a privilege. Particularly, I assume, if you're an Italian.
"Suddenly it turned into something that was actually not meant in any way to be putting any form of pressure on Fred. But this headline, together with whatever was happening in their world and their drivers, created this bit of a storm.
"I felt sorry for Fred because I've been at the front of a performing team, or a high-pressure team, and know what's involved.
"It was a question of just two and two coming together and adding up to six."
The Times quoted Horner as saying: "Would I consider Ferrari? I mean, Ferrari is the biggest brand in Formula 1. It’s the dream. And arguably it's the sleeping giant of Formula 1."
So would Horner actually consider the top job at Ferrari if he was given the right control?
"Ferrari is Ferrari in the sport and they have a position of huge influence," he said. "And they've obviously had a great car, this year, or certainly the chassis; it looks like they've perhaps been a bit behind on engine power. And I think everybody would love to see Ferrari win again.
"I'm perhaps more focused on other options.
"Whenever you're associated with Ferrari, it's a great honour, but it's not something that I'm petitioning for."
Horner added: "I think within any organisation, stability is key.
"During my time at Red Bull, I sat across the table with maybe six or maybe seven team principals, going back to Jean Todt up to Fred.
"Stability is crucial. Ferrari has a pressure with it, as essentially a national team, that others don't come under the same scrutiny.
"I think that it would be popular for everybody to see Ferrari winning in the sport. I think Fred is a very capable operator, I think he's got a great pedigree in lower forms of racing. He probably just needs more time."