Why is Red Bull keeping faith in Christian Horner despite the turmoil within Milton Keynes?

Red Bull has continued to support Christian Horner despite the tensions within the team rising in the past couple of months.

Why is Red Bull keeping faith in Christian Horner despite the turmoil within Milton Keynes?

Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen, and Christian Horner (via IMAGO)

Red Bull Racing has found itself in a difficult spot in the last couple of months. An investigation into Christian Horner over allegations of inappropriate behavior created turmoil within Milton Keynes. Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen were reportedly looking to leave the team if Horner stayed in charge. Rumors around Newey have resurfaced recently. However, Horner continues to lead the Austrian team.

Christian Horner was made the Team Principal of Red Bull when the energy drinks giant acquired the Jaguar F1 team at the end of 2004. The Briton was given the mission to make the team a front-runner by none other than late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz with Helmut Marko serving as the Motorsport Consultant.

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In the past two decades, Red Bull has become one of the best teams in the sport’s history with seven drivers’ titles and six team’s championships under Horner’s leadership. However, as things stand, personnel such as Adrian Newey are looking to leave the team because of Christian Horner. It must be noted that the Red Bull team boss had did his best in bringing Newey from McLaren in 2005. Hence, why is Red Bull keeping faith in Christian Horner despite the turmoil within Milton Keynes?

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Christian Horner gives Red Bull a direction unmatched by other team bosses

Since 2005, Christian Horner has been the only team boss to continue leading his team in the F1 paddock. 20 years is a long time in motorsport, but with Horner still being 50, he has a lot more left to give Milton Keynes. One could argue that the Red Bull team boss has followed in the footsteps of former McLaren boss Ron Dennis who led the Woking-based team for over three decades.

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko (Via IMAGO)

During Christian Horner’s reign, Red Bull has expanded across Milton Keynes and will be racing with its own power units in 2026. Moreover, the Austrian team has given the sport the likes of Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. This showcases the incredible leadership of the 50-year-old despite the ever-changing F1 landscape.

Red Bull first won a race in 2009. albeit its sister team did in 2008 courtesy of Sebastian Vettel. Since then, Milton Keynes has consistently fought for race victories, The Turbo-hybrid era was an outlier, however this was because of the Renault power units. Thus, Red Bull could believe that as long as Horner is in-charge, the team is in the right hands.

Christian Horner could fill in the voids left by Adrian Newey or Max Verstappen

In Formula 1, employee turnover is quite common, especially for drivers. Max Verstappen has raced for Milton Keynes since 2016 with a contract till 2028. However, there is no guarantee that the Dutchman would not leave the team for greener pastures in the future. As such, having Christian Horner would allow Red Bull to retain its leader. Horner could then sign a top driver in case of Verstappen’s exit. 16 drivers are already interested to partner Verstappen next season.

Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen
Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen (Via: Imago)

Similarly, technical personnel do switch around the grid. Adrian Newey spearheaded Red Bull’s F1 success. However, the aero-genius had taken a step-back lately with Pierre Wache focusing on day-to-day running. As such, Red Bull might be willing to let go of Newey if Horner could establish a new structure around Wache.

It is clear that to achieve success in F1, a team must have a strong leader. Ferrari’s title draught after the Jean Todt era is a perfect example. As such, Red Bull might be careful not to fall into such a position. The energy drinks giant might be content to keep Horner as the team boss even if it displeased other top personnel. However, it remains to be seen if Christian Horner could indeed live up to the faith entrusted by the Austrian giant in the coming months.

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