Christian Horner spent a happy two decades leading the mighty Red Bull Formula 1 team. This week, he officially parted ways with the outfit, in a settlement that is expected to be valued between $70million-$100million – not a bad parting gift for someone who helped orchestrate eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles.
Overseeing the rise of one of the most successful teams the championship has seen since he took on the project in 2005, Horner has seen it all. From a record-breaking campaign in 2023 to the establishment of Red Bull Powertrains, all while maintaining and developing a successful junior driver programme that yielded the likes of Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, it seems only apt that we celebrate some of the highs, while also addressing some of the lows, of his long career.
Greatest moments
First constructors’ title
After joining F1 in 2005 by acquiring Jaguar, it only took until the November of 2010 for the team to win its first constructors’ championship. Vettel led Mark Webber to a solid 1-2 at Interlagos, allowing Red Bull to extend its lead far enough over McLaren before the last race of the season. Vettel won his own championship a week later.
2023, a record-breaking season
In what was an unprecedented level of dominance, Red Bull won 21 of 22 grands prix in 2023, with Verstappen winning 19 to Sergio Perez’s two. With just one loss in Singapore, where now-Williams driver Carlos Sainz took an impressive win, the team won the championship with six races to spare at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Securing Adrian Newey
Newey joined the energy drink team in February 2006 as chief technical officer after being actively hunted by Horner. The designer was interested not only in the responsibility of the role at such a team, but he also wanted a new challenge after time at McLaren and Williams. While Newey didn’t breathe much on the team’s 2006 car, by 2009, his concepts were fully ingrained into the Milton Keynes machinery.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Worst moments
Losing Adrian Newey
Red Bull confirmed in May 2024 that Adrian Newey would depart the team after almost two successful decades. From Horner’s point of view, it was the loss of a leadership team that had defined his organisation. Losing one of the championship’s most influential designers also reflected poorly on the chief as the pressure continued to mount after allegations from a female colleague. Newey moved to Aston Martin and Pierre Wache stepped in.
Cost cap breach penalty
The FIA confirmed in October 2022 that Red Bull committed a “minor overspend” of the 2021 cost cap. The team received a $7million fine and a reduction in wind tunnel time, but after the controversial end of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, this small infraction gave F1 fans another reason to pile on to the Milton Keynes outfit, rightly or wrongly. While Red Bull acted in “good faith” and paid its dues, fans weren’t happy.
The Drive to Survive villain
After Drive to Survive started in 2019, Horner became a central character of the docuseries. His blunt soundbites and cut-throat attitude that saw him sparring with the likes of Toto Wolff and Zak Brown quickly positioned him as the series’ pantomime villain. He even acknowledged it in the latest season. The show didn’t dive deeply into the allegations surrounding the Red Bull stalwart, but it heavily hinted at them and doubled down on the rivalries as he called Brown a “prick” in the trailer. Fortunately for Horner, a large portion of viewers liked his eagerness to win and competitive drive, with him building a large and devoted following from his work on the show.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
With the large settlement closing this long chapter, Red Bull will enter the 2026 regulations without its long-time leader, but instead with the engineering-focused Laurent Mekies. With the team leaving Azerbaijan with its second win in a row thanks to Verstappen, the future of the energy drinks giant is already looking up.
