Horner: 'Max wants to win everything, and that drives and motivates Red Bull'

In a month, Christian Horner will celebrate his 50th birthday. He has long since received the best presents: the two world titles for his Red Bull Racing, after a season in front of the record books. The central figure in all the current success is, of course, Max Verstappen, the driver Horner once put in a Formula 1 car at a young (some said too young at the time) age. "He is relentless in his drive to perform," says Horner.

It is admirable: where colleagues have to leave the field by the dozen, often hopping from team to team, Horner has been Red Bull Racing's team boss since 2005. In a performance-oriented world that constantly keeps you under enormous pressure, in which the spotlights are constantly on you, and the stakes are so huge, Horner has been a stable factor in this for 18 years. He may even soon become the main man, should Helmut Marko indeed be pushed aside by the Red Bull parent company - which hires him for the Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri teams.

Delightful feeling for Horner

Horner was at the cradle of all the great successes: He was the person ultimately responsible in the years with Sebastian Vettel, who became the best among drivers four times and helped his team to as many cups in the constructors' championship. After that, there were admittedly some lesser years. Not bad by any means, but victories were no longer a certainty for the ambitious and headstrong team. Until Verstappen got the right equipment at his disposal, and just like in 2022, drove all the competition to smithereens.

For a team boss, it must have been a wonderful feeling: knowing before every race that your driver is going to win that afternoon, and therefore also knowing that Verstappen is really going to secure that world title. "I think we've known it's coming from about the 4th or 5th race," Horner reflected in an interview with the media, including GPblog.

"I think from Miami, that was such a massive turning point for Max and that run of domination, 10 victories in a row. It's been the most outstanding, unbelievable season, and to see him now join names in the history of the sport like Lauda, Senna, Nelson Piquet, and Sir Jackie Stewart. There are some massive names that Max Verstappen now joins that list of very illustrious drivers that form an exclusive club in a part of the history of the sport."

But it must also feel very different for you compared to the last two years?

Horner: "It's been a lot less stressful, so Abu Dhabi was obviously insane a couple of years ago, but the last couple of years have just been out of this world in terms of the level that the team's been operating at the way that Max has been driving and of course the amount of races that he's won, he's been absolutely dominant not just this year but for the last couple of years."

Do you think it was that Miami weekend that was critical to his championship?

"It's so early in a championship, but I think that Checo got off to a good start, and we need him to rediscover that form as the championship now enters the final phase. Max, we've turned up with the best car that we've ever produced, and he's made the absolute best usage of it, and I think that some of the races that he's driven this year have just been so dominant. It's exceeded all our expectations. I think Max as a driver has just continued to evolve, continued to grow, and the level that he's now operating at, the way he's able to read races, the way he's able to manage tyres, the mental strength that he has in the high-pressure moments, is absolutely outstanding."

'Verstappen now a polished diamond'

Verstappen has long since ceased to be the driver he was in his younger years. While competitors spent years developing in step-up classes, the Dutchman did so in front of millions of F1 followers. These saw him sometimes make mistakes in his early years, something Verstappen hardly ever does now. "I think, generally, he's always had the speed from the very moment he sat in the car," Horner believes. "He now couples that with experience, and he arrived in Formula 1 as quite a rough diamond, and he's now a very polished diamond, and I think that he's maintained all those raw attributes that he had but now brings experience and couples that with that."

Is that Max's strongest asset? Whatever he's driving in the rapid conditions he just doesn't disobey him so consistently?

"His ability to adapt and extract the most out of the car, the confidence he has in himself, and the belief and the determination that he has. You see it time and time again whether it's on an out lap, whether it's on an in lap, whether it's the first lap of the Grand Prix, whether it's changing conditions, his ability to adapt and be at one with the car is beyond anything we've ever seen before."

When you compare this season with the most dominant season of Sebastian Vettel, how was the feeling different in the cab?

" I think the work we achieved with Sebastian was absolutely magical, and I think that we never believed we'd see that kind of dominance again and we managed to exceed that with Max, so they're very different drivers, they're very different people, but we're very privileged within Red Bull Racing to have two such great drivers."

How essential is the relentlessness of Max, in terms of turning a very good championship into such a dominant one that he doesn't let anyone around him ease up for a moment?

"He doesn't leave anything on the table. He wants it all, and that drives and motivates the team internally. I think that he is relentless in his pursuit of performance, and he doesn't want to just win. He wants to dominate, and I think you see that in any great sportsman really that their pursuit of excellence, their pursuit of not just wanting to beat but to totally dominate the opposition is again a hallmark of what makes him such an exceptional talent."

Does that relentlessness fill you with confidence for the next couple of years to keep this going?

"You can see the opposition will get closer, and with stable regulations, the concepts are converging, and we expect a much closer fight next year than we've had this year, and at the moment, we're going to enjoy this moment, and celebrate there's not often we get days like today to celebrate this 7th Drivers World Championship for the team and take a moment just to enjoy it."

Is your personal preference for Max in his grade of maybe your attention, or where do you personally rank him among the greats like Senna and Lauda?

"With his age, with what he's done and achieved in the period that he's been involved, he's up there with a very, very best, and I think that he's achieving some phenomenal, exceptional results, and as a team, we're extremely proud of him."

Will Verstappen remain hungry?

McLaren made considerable strides during the season, and Ferrari even beat Red Bull in Singapore. Admittedly, with Max Verstappen for 2024 and 2025, the Austrians are again the favourites on paper, so the rest is coming. In any case, it seems to be an advantage for Red Bull in advance that development of the car for next season can already start early, while, for example, Mercedes and Ferrari are still in a busy fight to take second place among constructors.

" I think you always have to keep thinking ahead," Horner argues. "If you stand still in Formula 1, you go backward, and of course, we have already been working on next year's car. We have, of course, had the restriction on the use of the wind tunnel. In a few weeks, those sanctions will be lifted, and that will allow the team to focus further on development."

Do you think Verstappen will be less hungry after this season?

"No, absolutely not. I think you'll see him tomorrow going just as hungry for the next success."