Horner remains loyal to Red Bull: does it face another period of success?

Helmut Marko announced this morning that Christian Horner will stay at Red Bull Racing until 2026. The team boss of the Austrian racing team is still the undisputed leader of the team after seventeen seasons. In the coming years, he and Max Verstappen will once again have to string together the world titles.

After successful spells in British Formula 3 and Formula 3000, Horner made the switch to Formula 1 in 2005, where he was signed by Red Bull. With the namesake, the team had a big company behind it, that should be able to compete for the world titles in the future. However, it took a number of years before it could come to that.

Great successes with Vettel

The former British racing driver appeared to have gold in his hands with Sebastian Vettel. The German showed his talents at Sauber and Toro Rosso, after which he really started performing at Red Bull. After a crazy race in Abu Dhabi in 2010, Vettel won the world championship and Horner won his first world title in Formula 1.

At that time Horner appeared to have built the right team around him because Vettel proved he wasn't a one-hit-wonder. The German driver won the world championship again over the next three years, showing Red Bull a lot of conviction. Horner, with his composure and talent for doing the right thing at the right time, was a major contributor to that.

Horner's Stay at Red Bull

After the rule changes, it proved impossible for Red Bull to compete with Mercedes, but that changed in recent years. Horner hoped to enter another period of success with Verstappen. Whereas in recent years Red Bull have always failed to get close to Lewis Hamilton, this season was a different story. Red Bull was able to convince the Dutchman and secure the fifth world title in history.

The extension of Horner's contract is a logical next step for the Austrian team, who will be hoping that Verstappen is also capable of winning a number of world titles with the team. With the new cars in Formula 1, Horner faces another serious test in 2022. Together with his team, he should be able to lead Verstappen to the world title once again.