Christian Horner has been with Red Bull since day one when the team was rebranded from Jaguar. Even today, he is at his best and has guided Red Bull to immense success. According to F1 Maximaal, chief advisor Helmut Marko, however, had to do an extensive background check on Horner before Red Bull hired him, as reported by F1 Maximaal.
Red Bull has undoubtedly thrived under the leadership of the British boss. Even though the start of their journey was not smooth, things began to change as the years rolled by. They dominated the grid with Adrian Newey, Sebastian Vettel, and Mark Webber from 2010 to 2013. With Max Verstappen as their star driver, Red Bull are dominating once again.
Currently, Horner has six Constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ championships [Verstappen is sure to win the championship in Qatar] that were won under his leadership.
How did Helmut Marko select Horner for the huge role at Red Bull?
Horner, in his professional life, was a racing driver. However, after failing to make much progress, the 49-year-old Briton decided to hang up his overalls. Instead, he wanted to try his trade in a managerial role, which is what caught Marko’s eye.
Before appointing Horner to the role, the Red Bull chief made thorough background checks and even took suggestions from the then drivers of the team such as Vitantonio Luizzi. However, it was Horner’s attention to detail which caught the eye of Marko in the end.
Robert Doornbos, who also raced for Red Bull once, said as per F1 Maximal, “I think this attracted Red Bull, or at least Helmut Marko. In those first years, you really saw Christian’s determination to make it a success. He had something special as a leader, even at that young age.”
Admittedly, David Coulthard was the first driver with whom Horner worked. He said that the boss was “a key figure. Designers, engineers, mechanics, and drivers come and go, but Christian has always been the constant at the team.”
How did Christian Horner become one of the most successful F1 bosses?
Christian Horner is surely one of the most successful Formula 1 team bosses of all time. However, Horner also had a motorsport career which he ended at the age of 25.
Horner, during his Formula 3000 [currently F2] days, understood that he would not make it to the very top. Therefore, he shifted all his focus and energy to being a manager.
In the end, the 49-year-old became the youngest-ever F1 boss at the age of 31. With that, Christian Horner is just a couple of years away from having two decades of experience as a boss at Red Bull.
