The foyer at Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes is literally stacked to the ceiling with trophies. Each one has been lifted sky high on a podium, sprayed in champagne and then brought back to earth in a locked glass cabinet in Buckinghamshire.

Every time Christian Horner walks in he passes 17 years of memories. The longest serving team principal in Formula One was once the youngest, brought in by Red Bull in 2005 to manage a fledgling team that would scrap it out against the legendary names of motorsport.

“Nobody thought an energy drink maker from Austria, with no real experience in F1 stood a chance,” recalls Horner. “We were up against Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. There were big characters, big egos – we were almost starting from scratch.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Success didn’t come overnight, but from 2010 to 2013 Red Bull was dominant, with Sebastian Vettel winning four consecutive championships. The first was the most memorable — the narrowest of victories in the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi, against Fernando Alonso and the might of Ferrari.

Stefano Domenicali, the new CEO of Formula One Group, was team principal of Ferrari at the time. “I felt quite guilty because Stefano thought Ferrari had the championship in the bag,” chuckles Horner.

“They invited all their shareholders along to the grand prix and an enormous after-race party was planned. Then Seb nicked the title and everything just fizzled out. Stefano almost lost his job because of it. That just proves nothing is certain in F1 — not until the last corner of the last race.”

Which is where the 2021 championship appears to be heading. The bitter rivalry between seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has provided one of the sport’s most exciting seasons in living memory.

“Normally by now the championship has been wrapped up — but not this year. I hope it doesn’t go to the final race in Abu Dhabi on December 12 but I think it’s inevitable. This championship will go to the wire, which is great for F1 but not much good for my sleep pattern.”

The drivers’ championship sparked into life in dramatic fashion at the British Grand Prix in July, when Formula One returned to a packed crowd for the first time. While Lewis Hamilton recorded his eighth home after a ten-second penalty, the major talking point was an opening lap collision with Verstappen that sent the Dutchman into the barriers and out of the race.

"It was brutal. Max was knocked out and we couldn’t reach him on the team radio..."

“I don’t think many people realise the severity of a crash like that at over 200mph. It was brutal. Max impacted at 51G — it actually broke the seat of his car. He was momentarily knocked out and we couldn’t reach him on the team radio,” recalls Horner.

“Your immediate focus is on the health of your driver. Anybody in F1 knows Copse is a high-speed corner, one of the most dangerous in F1. That moment certainly caught my attention, I realised what we were up against.”

With both teams claiming foul play, the drama continued at Monza in September, when Verstappen’s car clipped a kerb and ended up on top of the Mercedes — the Red Bull’s rear wheel hitting Hamilton’s helmet through the halo protection system.

The Verstappen-Hamilton Crash at Monza in September. &#8220;Thankfully, both guys were okay.”


Despite Verstappen being handed a three-place grid penalty at the next race, Horner says that accident was less dangerous. “It looked dramatic but the speed was much lower. Max’s car just flicked in the air but, thankfully, both guys were okay.”

In the pit lane, the media has been having a field day comparing Horner with Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff. Horner, the laid-back Brit with motorsport coursing through his veins; Wolff a ‘control freak’ more interested in the politics of the sport.

“I don’t pay much attention to the Toto situation,” says Horner. “The intensity of the competition is so fierce this year that one mistake could cost either team the title. This is also the first time Mercedes has been under this level of pressure in seven seasons — it will be interesting to see how they deal with that.

“Toto and I aren’t similar characters. He is a financial guy and I grew up in the industry. It doesn’t make one right or the other one wrong but we are very different people. We have a handful of races to go, varying circuits around the world, the situation is very exciting, even for the impartial F1 fan.”

Next season will see an extensive overhaul of F1 regulations, delayed from 2021 because of Covid-19. Domenicali and F1’s hierarchy hope the changes will bring more exciting racing, with cars that look very different to this year’s starting grid.

The big difference will be aerodynamics and the return to the ground-effect formula that allows underbody tunnels – a feature not used in F1 since the 1980s. Not relying on wings for downforce reduces the ‘dirty air’ affect, which currently prevents following drivers from getting too close to the car in front.

“Making the cars easier to follow will promote overtaking and is a totally different philosophy to what we have now,” explains Horner. “They are ripping up everything we have done for the last five years and imposing budget caps to help the smaller teams.

“It’s a clean sheet of paper for everyone. Some will get it right and others won’t. It will be fascinating to see the first tests in Spain before the season starts. Usually somebody finds a different interpretation of the rules and gets a head start — you just hope it’s your team.”

If that wasn’t enough to give Horner sleepless nights, Honda’s exit from F1 at the end of this season means Red Bull will now build their own engines. Red Bull Powertrains is a new company based at the Milton Keynes campus, increasing the payroll to almost 1,000 people.

"I think Mercedes were sulking a bit for the first year of Drive to Survive..."

“It’s non-stop meetings throughout the day, either face-to-face or via video call. We spend a lot of time on engineering issues because the engine is the heart of any car. It’s a significant step and will make us masters of our own destiny from next season.”

Still only 47, Horner’s 17th season in F1 is very different to when he was chosen by Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, for the team’s debut season. Having bought out Jaguar Racing, Red Bull’s lead driver was David Coulthard, brought in from McLaren.

“When I arrived, Bernie Ecclestone and Max Moseley were still running the show. Ron Dennis was at McLaren, Jean Todt was in charge at Ferrari, Frank Williams was hands on at Williams and Flavio Briatore was the boss at Renault. They were huge names but the one thing most of them shared was the ability to look beyond their own team and do what was best for the sport.

“They were entrepreneurs who had made their fortunes primarily from racing and recognised that the business was bigger than their individual team. So they would often talk about and support actions that didn’t necessarily benefit their own team. if Netflix had been around then that would have been some watching.”

Horner at Red Bull Racing Factory in Milton Keynes


Horner says the hit series Drive To Survive has given F1 a whole new audience and helped broaden the appeal of the sport in America. However, focussing on the characters rather than the drivers was not well received by some teams.

“Mercedes didn’t get involved at the start because they wanted the series to focus solely on them, as world champions. I think they were sulking a bit for the first year – Toto didn’t think it was a good deal, it wasn’t right, blah, blah, blah. Then they saw the impact and suddenly there’s a lot more Lewis in the later series.”

There’s no doubt the appeal of F1 is on an upward trajectory, helped by a new festival atmosphere on grand prix weekends — as well as the ongoing battle between two drivers at opposite ends of their career paths.

“It was a little overwhelming when we turned up at Silverstone and the crowds were back in force. If that was exciting, when we arrived at the Dutch Grand Prix in September it was completely insane. The fans went crazy for Max and everything seemed to be painted orange.”

"Ecclestone leaned forward and whispered in my ear: ’just don’t fuck it up!'"

Horner took his wife, Geri Halliwell, to the event. “It was like being in a nightclub for three days. Geri said the atmosphere was a like rock concert and she had never experienced anything quite like it.”

After the race — which Verstappen won in front of his fervent home — Horner took a call from his old friend Bernie Ecclestone. “He calls me after most races and still gives me plenty of grief. He’s 90 now but still an avid follower of the sport and not afraid to voice an opinion. I have a huge respect for Bernie – I was his Best Man and he is godfather to one of my kids. He is such a big character, I talk to him a lot.

“I remember being in the pit lane before the start of the deciding grand prix in 2010 and Bernie came over to talk to me. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear: ’just don’t fuck it up’. That’s probably the best advice I’ve ever been given!”

There were rumours that Horner might replace his mentor when Ecclestone quit the sport in 2017. Instead, the job went to US TV executive, Chase Carey, before Domenicali took the helm in January this year.

“I enjoy the competition too much to consider leaving the pit lane. I am a racer at heart and always have been. There’s also so much I want to achieve in this new era of Formula One – that’s an enormous challenge and one I thrive on. We also have some unfinished business with Mercedes.”

Horner has his own thoughts about the greatest driver of all time and, perhaps not surprisingly, it isn’t Lewis Hamilton. “Statistically, he is the most successful but I would say Ayrton Senna. His career was cut short and the statistics don’t reflect what his talent might have been capable of.”

Despite the vast display of silverware on show in the foyer, Horner says there is still room for plenty more cabinets. “When I see the trophies, feel the energy and the excitement about the place, it’s a massive shot in the arm.

“I think the tough years of not winning battle harden you. It makes me more determined than ever to succeed because I know the feeling of being a winner too. Mercedes have been pretty much unbeatable until now but if you keep pushing, keep believing in yourself then anything is possible.”

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