Christian Horner at Red Bull: master strategist or master schemer?

11:42, 12 Jul

Co-author:Kada Sárközi

byLudo van Denderen

Christian Horner was admittedly loved by some within Red Bull Racing, but there were plenty both inside and outside the organization who could not stand the team principal.

For more than twenty years, Christian Horner was the team principal of Red Bull Racing; an eternity in Formula 1. The fact that the Brit survived all the storms over those years was partially thanks to his political instinct. Like no other, Horner knew how to navigate within the F1 paddock. This made him both loved and hated.

'Horner dared to drop a bomb'

Karun Chandhok, former F1 driver and now analyst, thinks it’s a quality how Horner played the political game. "Christian was prepared to lob those grenades out in the public, but also even behind the scenes," he began to Sky Sports.

Chandhok also points out an instance that relates to others being irritated by the former team principal. "He did upset some people along the way. Let's not forget that the reason they had to create their own engine company for 2026 is because nobody would supply them an engine."

"There were points where he fell out with certain people and he couldn't get a Ferrari and he couldn't get a Mercedes engine. There were issues at Honda, so they had to go down this path."

However - so is Chandhok's final conclusion - the Austrian squad will miss the experience and leadership of Horner.