Red Bull, in this millennium, surely goes down as one of the best teams in Formula 1. However, that reward comes with a no-nonsense attitude and a cut-throat approach to excellence. And that mentality has been with Red Bull ever since Christian Horner has been at the helm.
There have been times when they replaced drivers midway through the season just because they were not doing well per the team’s standards. Such modus-operandi has often garnered them massive criticism.
Moreover, their current leading driver Max Verstappen isn’t also liked by a major section of F1 fans because of his alleged blunt and egoistic behavior. Therefore, Red Bull certainly has a villainous image that could do anything to be successful. But can they ever change that? Horner seems to have a solution.
Christian Horner takes a sarcastic jibe at Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes
Red Bull, like Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin, and Williams, is settled in England, but unlike most of them, it doesn’t have any connection with the British audience. Wondering over what could have caused it, Horner claims his team not having a ‘British driver’ like Lewis Hamilton is the reason.
It could have been different, “If we had a British driver like a certain team in Brackley. We are too easily seen as the bad guys,” said Horner. Though he didn’t name Hamilton, it was obvious that Horner was mentioning him. Mercedes also have another British driver, George Russell, but he doesn’t have any bad blood with Horner or Red Bull to receive such a reference.
Definitely, Horner didn’t serve a compliment to either Mercedes or Hamilton here. From what we know, the Red Bull team principal doesn’t care about what fans think of his team until they win titles.
Red Bull takes care of its personnel
Red Bull is indeed heavily strict with its drivers and could axe them for poor performances. However, at the same time, it’s the only team that is patient with its engineering staff and knows that technical results can’t come overnight.
During its leaner patch, when Mercedes and Ferrari had overtaken them in the standings, Red Bull hardly fired any of its key people at Milton-Keynes. The faith in their personnel resulted in their re-emergence as the best team on the grid.
Moreover, coming over the welfare of the drivers, they took back Daniel Ricciardo with open arms as a third driver with full flexibility to allow him his break from the sport. With this move, they aim to keep the Australian race driver connected with the sport while being away.
This professional environment designed by Horner also gave him the credibility to criticize Ferrari for sacking Mattia Binotto. The Italian team contrasts incredibly with Red Bull, as the former has sacked several team principals ever since the five-time world champions entered the sport.
