Christian Horner will remain the Red Bull F1 boss till 2026 after agreeing to a contract extension. This will mean that he will be the longest-running team principal in F1 which he already is, as he was brought in by Dietrich Mateschitz when he bought the Jaguar team to run the newly formed Red Bull racing in 2005. This will mean that Horner will be in the job for more than two decades.
Helmut Marko revealed in an interview that Red Bull had moved towards a contract extension for the feisty Horner even before talks for a potential extension for Max Verstappen is being talked about whose contract ends at the end of the 2023 season.
"Christian is the team principal, he is in the public eye and I am more in the background. But we coordinate things quite well, we set the direction of the team, and also of our staff. In political issues, we usually speak the same language, and I believe our success proves us right," said Marko.
Christian Horner Red Bull AFP
Photo Credit: AFP
"[Red Bull owner] Dietrich Mateschitz said, 'Christian who?' at the beginning as Christian had zero experience in Formula 1. But I already knew him from Formula 3000 and other junior categories and I knew about his ambitions and skills. Now that has developed into something great. He is a charismatic team boss who, by the way - even before you [Verstappen] - was in the process of extending his contract until 2026," he added.
News of Horner's extension is no surprise as Red Bull has acquired Honda's engine IP for the formation of Red Bull powertrains which will deliver its first in-house engine only by 2026. Till then the business unit will be operating what's fundamentally Honda's technology.
With Horner, Red Bull has won five driver's world titles including the latest one with Verstappen and four team constructor's championships. Horner's lobbying was critical for getting the engine development freeze in place till 2026 for F1.
"Within the whole team, or at least the top positions, we want to have stability for the transition years coming up, when the new engine regulations come in and when the new chassis regulations come in so that we have a solid team for that," Marko added.
