Christian Horner became the youngest team principal in Formula 1 history when he took the reins at Red Bull in 2005. Two decades later, he departed as one of the championship’s longest-serving and most decorated leaders, having overseen eight drivers’ and six constructors’ world championships.
Throughout his 20-year tenure, Horner built a reputation as a ruthless operator who demanded nothing less than excellence from his drivers. His iron fist helped steer Red Bull through multiple golden eras, with some drivers achieving such dominance that their names are now etched in the F1 history books.
Others who raced for the team weren’t so fortunate. Here’s how all 14 Red Bull drivers fared under Horner’s rule.
David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images
David Coulthard – Mixed
Scottish racer David Coulthard was Red Bull’s first major signing and delivered consistent performances in the team’s formative years from 2005 to 2008.
Already a veteran of the series, he lent credibility to the energy drink team, which was born from the ashes of Jaguar and run by a 31-year-old Horner. The team boss later credited Coulthard with helping develop the infrastructure of the squad, and said he played a foundational role in their eventual success.
Although Coulthard scored the team’s first ever podium at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, he retired from F1 before Red Bull’s first title-winning era began. Coulthard has remained an ambassador of the team, and one of Horner’s closest friends in the paddock.
Christian Klien – Struggled
Christian Klien was retained from the Jaguar days, but struggled to hold his own against Coulthard.
He scored early points for the outfit in 2005 and showed flashes of speed, but was inconsistent. Horner gave him another chance in 2006, but rotated him with Robert Doornbos before eventually letting the Austrian racer go. He became one of Red Bull’s earliest cautionary tales of a driver with promise who was sacked because he couldn’t deliver the results the team demanded.
Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Vitantonio Liuzzi – Struggled
The highly-rated Italian driver made his F1 debut with the team in a car-sharing arrangement with Klien. During his four race starts for Red Bull, Vitantonio Liuzzi failed to score points or make any lasting impression in F1.
Horner opted to send him to the newly-formed Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) in 2006, and he never returned to the senior team.
Robert Doornbos – Mixed
Dutch racer Robert Doornbos was initially hired as the team’s test and reserve driver, but Horner handed him a short-lived promotion at the tail end of 2006 after Klien was dropped.
The Dutchman had worked with Horner during his junior career at Arden Motorsport, and proved to be a capable driver who showed respectable pace. However, it was clear to Horner that Doornbos wasn’t world champion material, and the team’s rising ambitions soon left no room for placeholder talent.
Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sutton Images
Mark Webber – Thrived
The Australian driver’s time at Red Bull coincided with the team’s rise from the midfield to genuine title contention. Mark Webber achieved nine race wins and played a key role in four constructors’ titles, but he was often in the shadow of Sebastian Vettel.
His fierce determination was both an asset and a headache for Horner, who had to manage friction between his drivers during the dominant period in the early 2010s. The infamous ‘Multi-21’ incident – when the German disobeyed team orders to overtake Webber for the win – exposed the cracks in Red Bull’s intra-team harmony, and put Horner in a tough political spot.
Despite never achieving a world title, the team principal credited Webber with helping push the squad forward, even when the spotlight was on Vettel. Webber, for his part, had some critical words for his former boss in his 2015 memoir, and upon returning to the series to manage fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri, he’s kept the 24-year-old far away from both Red Bull and Horner.
Sebastian Vettel – Thrived
The German driver was Horner’s first true success story: a prodigious talent he nurtured into a four-time world champion.
Throughout his tenure, Sebastian Vettel became one of F1’s all-time greatest, dominating the field during the team’s 2010 to 2013 reign. But Red Bull struggled after the 2014 regulation changes and Vettel jumped ship to Ferrari. Horner said the move was both emotionally challenging and professionally inevitable, and he continued to speak highly of his former driver, whose exit marked the end of Red Bull’s first golden era.
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 2nd Position, on the podium with his trophy and champagne
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Daniel Ricciardo – Thrived
Daniel Ricciardo was heralded as a world champion-in-waiting throughout most of his tenure at Red Bull, which began with a 2014 promotion to the senior team.
In his first year, he outperformed Vettel and won three races – a feat that no one, not even Horner, could have predicted. His Aussie charm and late-braking racing style made him an instant fan favourite, and Horner backed him as the future of the team.
But engine woes stalled Ricciardo’s rise, and he got the impression that Horner was turning his attention towards a new #1 driver: his rookie team-mate Max Verstappen. He shocked everyone in the paddock, including his boss, when he announced his departure in 2018. He and Horner maintained a positive relationship through the years, though the team principal said Ricciardo exited Red Bull before his time, and could have achieved greater success.
Daniil Kvyat – Struggled
The Russian was the first in a string of young drivers rapidly promoted to a high-pressure Red Bull seat before they were ready. Daniil Kvyat joined the outfit in 2015, replacing Vettel, but struggled with consistency and confidence.
A series of high-profile incidents sealed his fate, and he was ruthlessly demoted mid-season to Toro Rosso. The decision to switch him and then-18-year-old Verstappen changed the course of F1 history, but Horner later admitted that the team may have mishandled the timeline of Kvyat’s rise.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1st Position, celebrates on the podium with his trophy
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen – Thrived
The Dutchman became the youngest driver in F1 history when he joined the series, and his 2016 promotion was a massive risk for Red Bull. It paid off immediately, however, when he won on debut in Spain, and hasn’t stopped winning for the better part of a decade. Horner has described him as a generational talent, and the team has developed around him – for better and for worse.
From 2021 to 2024, Verstappen dominated the series, sailing to the top step of the podium and eventually claiming four consecutive world titles. He’s maintained a positive relationship with Horner, even when his father Jos Verstappen publicly criticised the team’s leadership in 2024.
Pierre Gasly – Struggled
After Ricciardo’s shock exit, the team scrambled to find a replacement. Horner promoted Frenchman Pierre Gasly to the senior team, but he crumbled under the pressure: he was consistently off Verstappen’s pace and struggled to adapt to the car.
Halfway through the 2019 season, he was demoted back to Toro Rosso, highlighting the high-pressure, performance-first approach to driver development that Horner cultivated. Gasly went on to achieve a race win with AlphaTauri, before leaving the Red Bull family altogether to race for Alpine instead.
Alex Albon, Red Bull Racing RB16, leads Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW43
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Alex Albon – Struggled
Alex Albon replaced Gasly in mid-2019 and initially impressed Horner with his strong racecraft, which earned him two podiums.
However, he was nowhere near Verstappen over the course of a full season and was ultimately replaced in 2021. Horner was adamant that the Thai driver simply needed more time to mature, and retained him as a simulator and reserve driver before he left the fold and headed to Williams.
Sergio Perez – Mixed
By 2021, the second Red Bull seat had become something of a revolving door, so Horner decided to do things a little differently. Sergio Perez was the first non-Red Bull junior to join the team in over a decade, which proved to be a smart move.
The Mexican brought stability and maturity to the job, and played a key role in the constructors’ title fight in 2021 and 2022. Although he achieved multiple race wins, the performance gap to Verstappen widened dramatically in 2023. Horner stuck by him until 2024, when he made the call to move on.
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Liam Lawson – Struggled
If you thought Albon or Gasly had it rough, Liam Lawson was given just two races as a full-time Red Bull driver before he lost his seat.
The Kiwi impressed as a reserve for the junior team throughout 2023 and 2024, and leapfrogged his long-tenured team-mate Yuki Tsunoda to Red Bull at the start of 2025. However, the dream quickly became a nightmare when Horner made the brutal decision to switch him and Tsunoda following a handful of poor performances. Horner admitted they may have rushed Lawson to the top team too quickly, but his brief tenure underscores the unforgiving environment that’s been fostered at Red Bull.
Yuki Tsunoda – Struggled
Throughout four seasons, Yuki Tsunoda transformed from a hot-headed rookie to a raw and exciting talent waiting in the wings at AlphaTauri. However, his elevation to Red Bull in early 2025 came as a surprise, and he was given very little time to prepare for the mammoth task of partnering Verstappen.
Although his first couple of races showed flashes of potential, his results were incredibly inconsistent and it became clear that he didn’t have the pace to challenge the four-time world champion. Upon Horner’s exit in July 2025, Tsunoda thanked the team principal for offering support and guidance throughout his career, however it’s clear that Tsunoda’s future at Red Bull also hangs in the balance.
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