![\"Oliver](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/minztzlaff-horner-marko.jpg\")
Oliver Mintzlaff, Managing director of Red Bull GmbH, Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Dr Helmut Marko, Team Consultant of Oracle Red Bull Racing talk in the Paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 18, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Alex Pantling\/Getty Images) \/\/ Getty Images \/ Red Bull Content Pool \/\/<\/p>\n
The Red Bull Powertrains unit, developed after Honda\u2019s withdrawal and in partnership with Ford, was judged the most performant engine in Formula 1 under the 2026 regulations in its debut year and secured its first win on its 16th grand prix start. Horner called the outcome remarkable given the project\u2019s origins. \u201cFor that engine to go out and be judged to be the most performant engine in Formula 1 in its debut year and win on its 16th attempt. Arguably, I see that as one of my biggest achievements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recounted starting the power unit program in February 2021 with what he described as a \u201charebrained idea.\u201d A bubble-wrap factory was converted into an engine facility in 55 weeks. \u201cIt demonstrated to me that again by applying that philosophy of getting a great group of people together, empowering them, giving them clear direction and creating the right culture, giving them the tools\u2026 we converted a bubble wrap factory into an engine facility in 55 weeks,\u201d Horner explained. The engine has not received an upgrade since the opening race in Melbourne, yet it has proven reliable and competitive while the chassis has continued to improve.<\/p>\n
Horner, who left Red Bull in July 2025 amid a power struggle that followed the death of Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, said he was disappointed by the manner of his exit but now has a decent relationship with both shareholders. He was told at the time that the organization felt it had become \u201ctoo much Team Horner and not enough Team Red Bull,\u201d and he declined to give up parts of his role because he believed it would compromise leadership. \u201cI was disappointed in the way and the manner in which it finished,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt that I\u2019d given loyal service to the company\u2026 It was just I felt sad that I didn\u2019t have the chance to conclude my time there in maybe a slightly more dignified manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite that, Horner expressed pride in the state of the team he left behind. \u201cAll I know is that I\u2019ve left that team in a great place. You know, there\u2019s some incredible people there, great facilities, a competitive engine,\u201d he said. He added that Red Bull is \u201cin a different place now\u201d under new structures, but \u201cthe business is, from what I understand, flying; they\u2019re doing incredibly growth-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the wide-ranging interview, Horner reflected on the autonomy he believes a team principal needs. \u201cYou got to have you got to be able to turn the lights on and off. If you can\u2019t, you\u2019re just a puppet,\u201d he said, contrasting the powerful team principals of earlier eras with the more constrained roles he sees today. He credited the same approach\u2014empowering people, clear direction, and a strong culture\u2014for both Red Bull Racing\u2019s earlier success and the power unit project\u2019s rapid progress.<\/p>\n
Horner also addressed Max Verstappen\u2019s importance to the team, describing him as \u201can enormous cog\u201d and a generational talent whose ceiling raised the performance of everyone around him. He noted that Verstappen\u2019s demands for a specific car balance were non-negotiable, and the team responded accordingly.<\/p>\n
While open to a return to Formula 1 under the right circumstances\u2014full autonomy and a clear mandate to win\u2014Horner said he would not come back simply for the sake of it. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t come back just for the sake of coming back\u2026 I\u2019m proud of what I did in Formula 1,\u201d he said. For now, he is focused on promoting Drive<\/a> and looking back on nearly 21 years at Red Bull with fondness for the majority of that period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has revealed that senior figures at the company privately congratulated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":938909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-938908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=938908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/938909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=938908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=938908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=938908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}