Ecclestone casts verdict over Horner’s two-decade legacy with Red Bull

08:45, 11 Jul

Updated: 10:36, 11 Jul

byTobia Elia

Bernie Ecclestone acknowledged the tremendous success Christian Horner achieved with Red Bull, noting that the two share a long-standing friendship that dates back to well before their time in Formula 1.

The relationship between the now-former Red Bull CEO and team principal and the British businessman goes back to the days of Formula 3000, when a young Christian Horner began his career as a team manager with Arden, earning the respect of then-FOM Chief Executive, who would later pass the torch to Liberty Media in 2017.

It was in fact Ecclestone who paved the way for Horner’s rise to Formula 1 despite his young age, allowing him to become the youngest team principal on the grid at just 31 years old.

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Ecclestone acknowledges Horner's success with Red Bull

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, the former Formula 1 supremo couldn’t help but acknowledge the remarkable success and impressive career of his compatriot, who was dismissed with immediate effect just a few days ago.

“For Christ’s sake, who else has done what he has in Formula 1? Just for results?” he exclaimed, reflecting on Horner’s two decades at the helm of the Milton Keynes-based team.

“You get very few executives who can do everything, from engineering to public relations. He had been running the company the way he thought it should be run. For a long time, people were prepared to say, ‘OK, fair enough, he’s getting the job done.’

''But as soon as you go off a little bit, people look and say, ‘Hang on.’ Christian won a lot of championships. He was used to winning. So, it’s not easy when you’re not winning – and when you know that it’s not entirely your fault.”

Since 2005, Horner has amassed an impressive 14 titles in total—8 drivers’ championships and 6 constructors’—and can also take credit for having launched the careers of drivers who went on to become exceptional champions, such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, whose own future at Red Bull now appears uncertain as well.