Christian Horner: Nobody Bigger Than Red Bull Team

Where it stands at the moment, then it can be said sans much of a doubt that things aren’t exactly squeaky clean at the multiple Constructor championship winning Red Bull team. Even before the ongoing world championship season could begin with the season opener, the Christian Horner-powered team were on the backfoot siding malicious allegations levelled against the team principal.

Confirmed reports citing inappropriate texts sent by Horner to a fellow Red Bull colleague birthed an atmosphere of mistrust and profundity of confusion in the team that had Christian Horner in the wrong. What soon followed were rumours that were rife about the imminent departure of long time team mentor Helmut Marko and even their start driver- Max Verstappen.

However, it is only now that the man under pressure, Christian Horner has stepped forward to offer his humble two cents on the ongoing controversy and shared the following:

“Obviously, a lot is made of this stuff. But we are one team, and nobody is bigger than the team. Everybody has a role to play. That’s from the very bottom to the very top.

Having said that, Christian Horner also clarified that: “Helmut, he is a consultant to Red Bull GmbH [the wider energy drinks company].

Furthermore, the under fire team principal of the famous Red Bull team also came forward to share some insight about his feeling regarding the team at present and its most important asset, which doubtlessly is Max Verstappen:

“Max is an important member of our team. He’s a valued member of our team. He’s a wonderful driver, but everybody has a role to play in this team. We are a team. No single individual is bigger than the team.”

But while things are apparently fine with Max Verstappen, already the number one man on the driver standings, what about Christian Horner’s equation with his champion driver’s father, Jos?

To this, the Englishman would clarify:

“The speculation is obviously rife. But the most important thing is the team and focusing on on-track performances. You only do that by having a spirit, a culture, and a determination throughout the entire company…As team principal and CEO, I’m responsible for the running and the operation of this team. So, everybody has to do their part. Max is doing his part, and everybody else is doing their part.”

Having said that, irrespective of there being tremendous pressure in the team off the grid, their performances on the grid have thus far been nothing shy of stupendous. With Verstappen winning both opening rounds at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, it doesn’t appear as though a lot is troubling Red Bull on four wheels after all.

What’s also clear is that teams like Mercedes and McLaren, in particular, have a lot of catching up to do.