Red Bull Boss Christian Horner is very protective of his team. And Why Not? He has been part of this team for a very long time. Horner joined the Red Bull team in 2005. The status of a powerhouse that Red Bull enjoys in Formula One, along with the success, is predominantly because of the man Christian Horner and his tea. After Toto Wolff of Mercedes, Christian Horner is the second most successful team principal in the history of Formula One. He has won six world driver’s championships and five constructor’s titles. Hence, Horner is very dear to all the Austrians and Red Bull fans. But that might not be the case for the fans of the other powerhouses.
Is Christian Horner An Avatar Of Anti-Christ For Mercedes Fans?
Especially the fans of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton may not look at Horner in the same way. Christian Horner is well aware of that scenario. Even today, a lot of Hamilton fans may not forgive Horner and Red Bull for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021. And after it was revealed that Red Bull had breached the cost cap back in 2021, the reputation of Horner and Red Bull got a beating. Albeit, the FIA has not yet released the 2022 cost cap results. But the Mercedes fans believe the Red Bull team had breached the cost cap again in 2022. And that helped the Austrian team to have such an overwhelming success.
Red Bull won 15 out of 22 races last year. Even Horner recently mentioned that he might look like an anti-christ or something to most of the Lewis Hamilton fans. But he wants to assure these fans that Red Bull did not cheat in the Abu Dhabi race, and neither did it in the last season. However, Red Bull had to pay a fine of $7 million, and there was a 10% reduction in their time in the wind tunnel. But it does not stop Christian Horner from claiming that they did not cheat. He added that he will always support his team no matter what.
“For your average Lewis [Hamilton] fan, I’m probably some sort of antichrist. But I make no apology for standing up for my team.“-said, Christian Horner.
Red Bull Knows It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
The Red Bull boss is also aware that starting well does not mean the job is done. Christian Horner knows that with the next race in Jeddah beginning March 19, Red Bull will need to increase their lead even further. Helmut Marko, the Red Bull advisor, too, believes that with every GP, the teams in second and third will mainly decrease the gap they have with Red Bull. Hence they need to win and increase the lead as much as possible in the early races.
Albeit, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari had the upper hand after the first three races of the last season, but then he lost his grip, and Verstappen enjoyed complete domination. So sometimes, the leads in the early races do not mean anything. In the end, the quality of the cars makes the teams dominate the seasons. Currently, Christian Horner is enjoying being that dominating team’s principal. Only time will tell if Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso gets the better of Checo or even Verstappen.
