Red Bull boss Christian Horner will remain at the head of the Formula 1 team for some time, as Motorsport has reported that Horner has extended his contract with the energy drinks outfit until 2026.
Red Bull advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, revealed to Servus TV‘s Sport and Talk program in a joint interview with the team’s newly crowned F1 Champion Max Verstappen, that stability within the team was crucial, especially with the new regulations kicking-in in 2022.
“He is a charismatic team boss who, by the way – even before you to [Max] – was working on his contract extension until 2026,” Marko told Servus TV.
Stability is key
“We want to have stability for the whole team, or at least in the key positions, for the transitional years until the new engine regulations come and the new chassis rules are in place.
“That works very well,” Marko spoke of the management setup they have at Red Bull. “Christian is the team boss, he’s in the public eye and I’m a little more in the background.
“But we coordinate everything well, set the lines together for the team and for the staff,” the Austrian revealed.
“In political issues we also usually speak the same language.
“I think the success shows our similarity as well,” he claimed.
Christian who?
Christian Horner became the youngest ever team principal in F1, when Red Bull chose hime back in 2005 to run their new team, having taken over the Jaguar F1 team operations. Horner was 31 at the time.
With design guru Adrian Newey joining less than a year later, the team set on a growth path that peaked on 2010, with Red Bull winning the F1 title double, with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel, making the German the youngest F1 Champion in the sports’ history to date. They went on to dominate between 2011 and 2013 as well winning three more title doubles with Vettel.
Horner was basically a “nobody” in the sport when Marko hand-picked him to run Red Bull, he reflected: “Mateschitz initially said ‘Christian Who?’
“Horner, of course, had zero experience in Formula 1, but I already knew him from Formula 3000.
“I knew his ambitions and also already knew what qualities he had in him.
“That developed in a fantastic way,” the 78-year-old from Graz, Austria concluded.
With Marko not going into the details of the contract extension with Horner, and whether pen was put to paper, Motorsport have revealed that they have learnt from “inquiries” done, that a contract was actually signed keeping the Briton in his position as Red Bull team principal up to 2026.
Red Bull might have missed on this year’s F1 Constructors’ Title, but are buzzing with the fact that their ace Max Verstappen has snatched the Drivers’ Crown from seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, on the final lap of this year’s season finale, the Abu Dhabi GP at Yas Marina Circuit.