A swear jar sits in one corner of the house that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner shares with his wife, the former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
On the evidence of Horner’s colourful language in the most recent series of Drive to Survive, it must be getting close to untold riches within. But even amid his costly pastime with the day job, Horner insists he is not even its greatest payer.
“My wife is contributing more to the jar than I am!” he laughs. “The problem for me is sometimes I’m not aware the cameras are there, but it’s made me realise I do swear quite a lot.”
Whatever comes out of his mouth, it appears to work. Max Verstappen edged out Lewis Hamilton to win last season’s drivers’ title and in Spain last weekend, the Dutchman picked up his third straight win of 2022 to move to the top of the standings.
Red Bull’s form to date this year has surprised Horner. Off the back of a marathon last season, which went down to the wire, he readily expected to be on the back foot. Instead, he says: “It’s been a stronger start than expected.”
Once more, they go head to head with a rival, this time Ferrari stepping into the shoes of Mercedes, making for a far more harmonious rivalry. “We are still at the very early stages of the championship,” says Horner, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. “I’m sure it will get more tense as the season progresses, but there’s a greater respect between the two teams than perhaps with Mercedes last season.”
There is no love lost with his opposite number at Mercedes, Toto Wolff. “We’re just two very different people,” says Horner. “Our priorities are different. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a respect, but we’re different personalities.”
Drive to Survive suggested they were far more similar than either would care to admit: both workaholics driven by competition. Of the likeness, he says: “That’s for you guys to judge. I think we probably share that competitive spirit in the same way as Max and Lewis.”
While Red Bull have started the season strongly, Mercedes have not — and Horner does not revel in their struggles, nor is he offering an olive branch. “There’s no time for sympathy,” he says. “It’s not a matter of sympathy or gloating, it’s about focusing on your own issues.”
Despite Mercedes’ difficulties, Horner expects them to force their way back up to the front and for “Toto to get involved at some point”.
At 48, Horner is the youngest, but also the longest-serving, team principal on the grid. This is his 18th season at the helm and, despite five drivers’ crowns and four constructors’ championships, the drive has not diminished. Asked if he might walk away from the role, he says: “It has never crossed my mind. I’m still very motivated. The hunger and drive is as great as it has ever been.”
That competitiveness can take its toll. Such was the intensity of the season finale and the legal squabblings afterwards, Horner immediately went down with Covid, which rather wiped out his festive mood.
As if 22 grands prix were not enough to quench his competitive thirst, he recently acquired a racehorse, a point-to-pointer. In its two outings to date, the horse — known as Hector at home, but racing under Lift Me Up (a 1999 No1 hit for his wife) — finished second and then won. “When it came out in the lead, I was thinking, ‘defend, defend, cover the inside’,” Horner recalls of the win earlier this month. “It’s amazing how those competitive juices come out. I was just as invested in that horse as a car — one horsepower versus 1,000.”
I’m still very motivated. The hunger and drive is as great as it has ever been
This year, F1 has not lacked for competition. The early indicators are it could go down to the wire again, but this time between Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Horner believes Verstappen is still the “same competitive animal”, but now one with greater experience and perspective and, right on cue, he appears to shake his boss’s hand. But Red Bull’s team principal warns there is more to come.
“He has a lot of racing ahead of him and he’s only going to evolve and get better,” he says. “He’s so strong across the board, whether qualifying, reading a race, overtaking, looking after the tyres or giving feedback to the team.”
Sometimes that feedback can be a little curt over the race radio towards his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who he effectively told to shut up during the sprint race at Imola.
“Max recognised he’d maybe been a bit sharp, went to find him, got him an ice cream and apologised,” recalls Horner. “Max just wants to win, so I don’t have any issues with it, as long as its channelled in a positive manner.”
Verstappen already has the makings of an all-time great, although Horner comes up short at describing him thus, merely saying, “Only time will tell”. And he is similarly wary of drawing comparisons to former Red Bull driver and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.
“The drivers at this level are all great,” he says. “It’s like top-10 tennis players, it’s how they cope with the pressure points. It’s the same with F1, that’s when you see the true greats deliver.”
Three times Horner has gone into the final race of a season with a shot at a drivers’ title. Each time it has ended well. This year, he hopes to wrap things up sooner. If not, a larger swear jar may be required.
