Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has shared an embarrassing anecdote of a bet with Martin Brundle which he lost in the 2006 season.
Christian Horner is one of the most respected names in the F1 paddock. He has played an instrumental role in the rise of the energy drinks company in F1, and continues to lead them credibly. But the team was struggling in its initial days, and Horner wouldn’t have fathomed that could lead to him being, umm, pool naked!
Clearly, in a jolly mood, Horner recounted a bet with Martin Brundle in 2006 which involved Red Bull taking the podium. Brundle, who was David Coulthard’s advisor, was convinced his driver could do so. But Horner called it a long shot, the realistic person he is. Read on to find what happened, from the man himself:
Christian Horner with a bet he probably does(n’t) regret losing
“That was really stupid of me. That car in 2006 had barely made it to the finish of one race. It overheated in Silverstone while it was five degrees there at the time. We arrived in Monaco and on the Wednesday before the race I had a few drinks with Martin Brundle, then the advisor of David Coulthard, one of our drivers. Martin said that David was always strong in Monaco so a podium might be possible. That season it didn’t even look like we could qualify in the top ten, let alone get a podium. That’s why I said: if he gets a podium, I’ll jump naked in the pool.”
“DC did well in qualifying, he was in the top ten. In the race he suddenly started to win places. We went from eighth to fourth, because our strategy was also in good shape. And all of a sudden he was in the top three. In the meantime, I had already forgotten that stupid bet. When DC crossed the finish line, Martin announced that it would cost me a jump in the pool and then David said again on the on-board radio that he was looking forward to seeing me take my suit off.”
Also read: Daniel Ricciardo had offered a tattoo bet to Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, but received a flat rejection
“Oh s**t, I thought. I thought I would get away with it if I did it in the dark. I’m a man of my word, but I would do it when nobody is looking. Because nobody wants to see that. Unfortunately, all the international media was around the pool. Luckily David was so merciful to give his cape to hide my masculinity. I did learn from that to never make another bet with DC or Martin Brundle.”
Red Bull have come a long way since then, winning four world championships, no less. And there is no way Horner would go for such bets now, considering the podium potential of his drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon. And if Sergio Perez replaces the latter, the count is expected to increase by quite a notch next season.
