Horner’s lasting legacy on F1

As sudden as his departure was, Christian Horner has a lasting legacy in Formula 1, building Red Bull from the “party team” to record breakers.

When Red Bull purchased the Jaguar at the end of 2004, Dietrich Mateschitz needed a leader, and he turned to Horner, who at 31 became the youngest team principal ever in F1.

Together, they were trying to break new ground in F1, leading an energy drinks company that was taking on the manufacturer might of Ferrari, Renault and McLaren Mercedes.

After humble beginnings and signs of promise in 2005 with veteran David Coulthard leading the way behind the wheel, the team quickly morphed into a heavyweight on the F1 grid and disrupted the status quo.

Christian Horner celebrates Red Bull’s first podium finish at Monaco in 2006. Photo by Gareth Bumstead/Sutton Images/F1

Having taken immediate strides compared to Jaguar’s competitiveness, the biggest turning point came in 2006 when Red Bull landed the prized scalp of famed designer Adrian Newey from McLaren.

A factory deal with Renault then coincided with the arrival of Australia’s Mark Webber in 2007 when it broke through to the top five of the championship.

Across the following two years, Newey focused on the new technical regulations that arrived ahead of the 2009 season, and it paid off in style.

Red Bull suddenly rocketed up to the front of the grid with new young gun Sebastian Vettel as the spearhead, winning its first race in China and were only denied both titles by the Brawn GP phenomenon led by Jenson Button.

But the team took another step forward in 2010 with both Webber and Vettel challenging for the title that was ultimately won by the German, who became the youngest ever at the time.

Christian Horner and Sebastian Vettel enjoyed lots of success from 2009-2013. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images/F1

This kicked off a glory era as Vettel, Red Bull, and Renault were unbeatable, winning four driver and team title doubles on the bounce, culminating in the historic 2013 campaign when they won the final nine races.

The change to the V6 turbo-hybrid era in 2014 saw Mercedes become the dominant force, and Red Bull struggled to win regularly outside of the occasional stunning Daniel Ricciardo drive.

Despite the unforgettable arrival of Max Verstappen in 2016, the frustrations with Renault’s unreliability and lack of competitiveness led to the bold change to Honda.

Without Ricciardo and Verstappen becoming the undisputed team leader, it took three years for everything to click and take the fight to Mercedes.

Red Bull and Verstappen ended up stealing the driver’s title from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in stunning fashion after a titanic season-long battle throughout 2021 concluded in a final-lap battle at Abu Dhabi.

Christian Horner, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen on the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix podium. Photo: LAT

The following year Red Bull was back to its best with Newey’s genius clear in nailing the new ground-effect aero-dependent regulations and Verstappen’s brilliance behind the wheel.

After leaving Ferrari and the rest for dust in 2022, the 2023 RB19 became the most dominant car ever, winning a record 14 straight races and all but one throughout the season.

Despite McLaren stepping up and stealing the constructors’ title, Verstappen’s class was still enough to wrap up the driver’s title.

These feats have pushed Red Bull and Horner to greatness and some stunning stats.

With Horner leading Red Bull across its entire journey to now, only three teams have more wins than himself – Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes.

Max Verstappen and Christian Horner lead the 2023 Dutch GP celebrations. Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

The stats are prolific, being 405 starts, six constructors championships, eight drivers championships, 124 wins, 287 podiums and 107 poles.

With a combined 15 F1 championships, he is level with longtime Mercedes rival Toto Wolff in third on the list of most successful team principals, with only Ron Dennis (17 titles) and Frank Williams (16 titles) ahead.

After 19 straight seasons, Horner rose to fourth on the list of most experienced team principals only behind veteran Brits Dennis (McLaren 1980-2009) Ken Tyrell (Tyrell 1968-1998) and Williams (Williams 1977-2020).

Who knows if this is the last we will see Horner in F1, but what is clear is Horner has left a massive mark on the sport, turning an energy drinks company into one of the best race teams in the world.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Red Bull Content Pool

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