Christian Horner has been conducting a tour of sorts as he tries to promote his book to as big an audience as possible. This has seen him make appearances on multiple podcasts, where the former Red Bull boss has been quite open about his journey.
Unlike the usually guarded self that Christian Horner has often been throughout his two-decade-long F1 career, the former team principal has been quite candid in talking about his journey at Red Bull and more than willing to spill the beans wherever he could.
After going through his interviews and appearances, the word that does usually come to mind is ‘confirmation’ more than revelation, as a lot of the stuff was already out in the open anyway. With that being said, what are some of the key takeaways from his appearances? Let’s take a look.
#1 There’s some bitterness about how he was fired
Christian Horner never admits it publicly, but what one cannot deny about his interviews is that there’s a certain level of bitterness that still exists regarding the manner in which he was fired by Red Bull.
Horner had a 45-minute interview with the senior management, after which his fate was sealed, and there was no extended period during which he could have some time to relinquish his responsibilities. What followed was no joint statement, a less-than-ideal send-off, and a very hasty departure.
Every time during his interviews when he talks about his departure, one can sense that the way in which he was told to leave didn’t sit right with him.
#2 Christian Horner triggered the end of the Red Bull-Porsche alliance
Early in the ground-effect era, there were rumours of a potential partnership between Red Bull and Porsche. It is often said that the partnership was almost signed, but at the very last minute, everything fell off.
During his interviews, Horner has revealed that the deal collapsed because of his reluctance, as once he visited the Porsche facility, he realised that they were too far behind F1 standards. If it was going to be a ’50-50′ partnership, there wasn’t much that Porsche was bringing to the table, and hence, Christian Horner didn’t think it was going to be the right call.
#3 The only person Christian Horner blames publicly is Helmut Marko
If we look at the entire saga at Red Bull, it didn’t involve only Christian Horner, but also Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen, and the Red Bull senior management.
However, if we listen to Christian Horner talk about his departure, he seems to fixate only on the role that Helmut Marko played and how much of a negative influence he was on the outfit overall.
#4 The Max Verstappen camp demanded extreme car characteristics
This one is more of a confirmation than a revelation in every way possible, as Christian Horner talked about how the Max Verstappen camp was quite particular about car development, and there was a serious push to build it more in line with what Max wanted.
This does align with the theories about the Red Bull being a very tough car to drive and Max Verstappen’s teammates continuing to be under pressure. It also puts talents like Alex Albon and Sergio Perez in a better light.
#5 Horner had no control over driver lineups
Arguably, one of the bigger frustrations that Christian Horner seemingly had during his stint with Red Bull was a lack of control over driver lineups. In almost every interview he’s given, he’s made it clear that he just didn’t have any say in the entire driver lineup mess.
He wanted Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso at Red Bull but was vetoed. He pitched Lando Norris, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri to Marko but was rejected. He felt that picking a young junior talent and placing them alongside Max Verstappen was a bad idea, but he was hardly listened to on that front.
