Christian Horner
ENGLAND
Christian Horner is the youngest team principal in the Formula One Paddock. He’s also been in the job since Red Bull Racing came into the sport, leading many to believe he took the position while still at school.
Now 36, and an established and respected member of the F1 paddock, Christian takes Red Bull Racing into a sixth Formula One season, having masterminded the team’s evolution from humble midfielder to its current standing as a serious championship contender. Under his leadership the team has recruited a design group filled with championship-winning pedigree, while also shaping a garage crew that compares favourably with the best in the business. On track Christian’s decision to team Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel was immediately successful, with the pair winning six races in 2009 and taking ten other podium finishes. Continuity is also high on his list of priorities, hence Red Bull Racing goes into 2010 as the most settled operation in Formula One.
Christian Horner’s career in motorsport began behind the wheel. After winning a Formula Renault scholarship in 1991, he competed in the 1992 British Formula Renault Championship with Manor Motorsport, finishing that season as a race winner and the highest placed rookie. He then moved up to F3 and won more races before progressing to F3000 for 1996, racing in the (rather confusingly titled) British Formula 2 Championship. He made the natural move into the International F3000 series for 1997, extraordinarily as both driver and entrant, having started his own racing team, Arden International – not the typical path for a 24-year-old racer. After two seasons Christian retired from the cockpit to concentrate on running the business.
In a few short years Arden developed into an F3000 powerhouse, winning numerous driver and team championships. During this period, and latterly as a GP2 team, Horner’s squad gained a reputation for encouraging talent capable of making it all the way to Formula One. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Heikki Kovalainen, and Sébastien Buemi have all won races for Arden, as has 2010 F1 rookie Bruno Senna.
Monaco skinny-dipping notwithstanding, Christian’s presence in the paddock tends to be understated; a reputation as a diplomat rather than screamer ensures his opinions are often called upon as a voice of reason by both the media and F1’s administrators. As a younger man he was F3000’s representative to the FIA; this year he will be chairing the FOTA F1 Sporting Working Group. His main challenge, however, will be ensuring Red Bull Racing builds upon its excellent showing in 2009.
"For us 2009 ended too soon!” he says. “Finishing the year with consecutive victories in Japan, Brazil and Abu Dhabi was terrific. In the early part of the year the diffuser issue caused us some difficulty, but I’m incredibly proud of the way everyone responded and the hard work that went into developing the car really paid off. We made great strides once the new diffuser was up and running and I think we had the best chassis of anyone, certainly in the second half of the season."
"Having won grands prix, achieved pole positions and finished second in both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships, our goal for 2010 has to be to go for the Championship. We have some formidable opponents but we demonstrated we’re a front-running team, so our target will be to start in Bahrain where we left off in Abu Dhabi."
