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Horner reminisces with a smile: He thought they were criminals

Horner reminisces with a smile: "He thought they were criminals"

02-06-2020 15:22

GPblog.com

Christian Horner has been involved in Formula 1 since 2005, so he is celebrating a small anniversary. His fifteenth year in Formula 1. When he arrived at the age of 31, the most striking team bosses at the time were Ron Dennis and Flavio Briatore.

The current team boss of Red Bull thinks back to that time with a smile. As a young broekie in Formula 1 he looked around because he wanted to learn a lot. In the latest episode of F1 Unscripted the Englishman looks back with David Coulthard on two striking figures from Formula 1.

Ron Dennis and Flavio Briatore

Ron Dennis was the boss of McLaren at the time while Flavio Briatore was in charge of Renault. Two opposites but Horner learned that different approaches can lead to success.

"There can't be a big difference between those two personalities, but when they competed against each other in 2005/2006 they were both successful with big differences in the way they handled situations. It made Horner think: "I thought to myself: there is no one-size-fits-all approach that is successful. Multiple ways of leadership can be successful. I have to find my own way."

"Mechanics were criminals"

There were big differences between Dennis and Briatore: "Dennis was always neat almost flawless in his approach while Briatore came in at meetings with lunch still on his shirt. For Briatore it was all about the show. He thought his mechanics were criminals. Rock and roll with pleasure and a show", the current team boss of Max Verstappen laughs.

By the way, he doesn't condemn Briatore's approach. He has a lot of respect for both gentlemen because they have achieved a lot in their own way.