Having just celebrated his 50th birthday, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has reached an age where most team principals would only just be starting their tenures as the leaders of their teams.
In fact, given that the average age of the ten men in charge of Formula 1’s teams when the 2023 season began was 53, Horner was and remains one of the younger team principals on the grid.
But as Horner enters his sixth decade, he does so already as one of the very few most successful team principals in Formula 1 history. Over 110 grand prix victories, 95 pole positions, 264 podiums, seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles – every single one achieved under Horner’s stewardship.
When RaceFans joined Horner in the Yas Marina paddock during the final grand prix weekend of the season, it was at the crescendo of a year in which his Red Bull team had not just broken new ground by their own incredibly high standards of success, but achieved the most dominant season in the sport’s history. With 20 wins from 21 grands prix – with the 21st to follow that same weekend – and a hoard of new all-time records set along the win from championship points total to overall laps led and more,
So sitting across from Horner after a year in which his team and world champion driver, Max Verstappen, have once again rewritten the record books, it seems fitting to ask – how much is Red Bull’s success down to him?
“That’s not really for me to answer,” he says, immediately looking to avoid taking an undue level of credit.
“I’ve run and operated this team as I would have done my own team and I take a great responsibility for the people that are here – the team that’s been built here and the culture that we have. But it’s not just about me. It’s about all the people within the team and the key players within the team. And it’s about exactly that, working as a team.
“I’ve always been a great believer in getting the best group of people, but then not telling them how to do their jobs. There’s no point in me telling Adrian [Newey, designer] how to design a car or Pierre [Wache, technical director] how to build a car or operate a car, or to Max how to drive it. It’s about getting the right people in the right roles and providing the right environment for them to thrive.”
It’s easy to forget that Horner himself was a driver, long ago. Rising up to Formula 3000 level – equivalent to Formula 2 today – he is far from a…
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