Despite Breaking the Budget Cap, Christian Horner Admits to Forcing Guenther Steiner Out to Hire Red Bull Genius Amid Terrible Financial Calls

Who would have thought that a drinks company would set up a Formula 1 team, let alone win multiple world titles? Red Bull, which won both championships last year, found itself in a punitive situation. As the FIA held them guilty of a budget cap breach. Christian Horner, who is the longest-serving TP currently, has now come out to talk about his own journey, which includes the team’s finances and an interesting anecdote related to fellow TP Guenther Steiner.

The man who was on his journey to be a racer couldn’t create ripples there. However, if you cannot do it yourself, it doesn’t mean that you cannot guide others to do it. But the doors that opened for Horner at Helmut Marko’s recommendation needed hard work to stay open. The job began with pushing the current Haas TP out in favor of Adrian Newey and what a decision that has been. To add to that, the Briton streamlined the money matters which attracted a penalty in 2022.

As quoted by inews, Horner said, “If you look after people and they feel comfortable in the environment they are in they will show you loyalty. It’s about getting the right people in the right roles, empowering them, creating the right atmosphere. At Arden people did not need to know how close to the wind we were sailing. The risks that were being taken. It was seat-of-the-pants stuff.”

He further highlighted the issues he walked into when he arrived at Milton Keynes. “We had bank loans at NatWest, constantly at the overdraft limit, credit cards maxed out, writing cheques and sending them out before the money had come in. It is a much bigger scale here and financially we are in a very secure position. But you still have to remove the obstacles to allow people to get on with their jobs.”

Read More: “Same Dynamic With Sergio & Max”: 10 Year Anniversary of Sebastian Vettel’s Infamous Incident Makes Fans Fear the Worst for Red Bull

But how did the man who was looking at a racing career land a job as a TP?

Helmut Marko became the guardian angel of Christian Horner

The success of Dietrich Mateschitz’s trust in Horner and the multiple championships is a testament to the fact that Horner was always better suited to lead the team as a TP. Talk about fate. Horner goes on to highlight what led to him landing at RB.

He stated, “I was looking to see how I could take Arden into F1. Bernie [Ecclestone] was pushing me towards the Jordan team,” he says. “Helmut invited me to meet Dietrich in Salzburg in the summer of 2004. The Jordan deal didn’t happen and Red Bull bought Jaguar. Dietrich invited me back at the end of 2004 and asked me to be team principal.”

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