Christian Horner Recalls Firing “Scary” Guenther Steiner From Red Bull to Make Way for Adrian Newey

For ages, for the general public, Formula 1 was all about the teams fighting for the championship and their drivers. For obvious reasons, the bottom half of the grid never really captured the attention of the fans. However, the Netflix series, Drive to Survive, changed that! Now the fans get to see and relate to drama and emotions all across the grid. This is exactly why we can relate more to what Christian Horner recently said about Guenther Steiner.

The Haas boss was fairly anonymous before the Netflix series swept everyone. However, since his debut in the show, the Italian-American has gathered a cult hero status and a similar following. So now when Horner talked about the scary aspect of firing Steiner, we know exactly how scary it must’ve been.

Christian Horner reveals the scary aspect of firing Guenther Steiner

Back in 2005 when Red Bull entered the circus, Steiner was on top of the Red Bull hierarchy as the team’s technical operations director. However, Horner did not see Steiner in Red Bull’s long-term plans. So by the end of the 2005 season, Horner pushed Steiner to Red Bull’s then-NASCAR team and poached Adrian Newey.

As we all know, Newey’s machineries have already won six championships at Red Bull already so it was a step in the right direction by the youngest team principal in the sport’s history. However, pushing Steiner out to make way for Newey was still a scary aspect for Horner as he revealed in the Eff Won podcast.

Horner said, “And suddenly you meet characters like Guenther Steiner. I mean, how scary is he? I mean, he used to work for us, I had to fire him. I mean, how scary was that?”

To this revelation, Dax Shepard asked, “Did he take it well?” and Horner replied, “Not really so.”

Read More: Outspoken Guenther Steiner Points Out Christian Horner & Red Bull’s Privilege Ahead of Predicted Baku Chaos: “It Is Part of the Sport”

However, had Steiner stayed at Red Bull, there’s a feeling the two would’ve gotten along very well. How do we know that? At least one instance proves their similar mentality.

Christian Horner and Guenther Steiner share the same mentality about diva behavior in a team

Formula 1 bosses need to be extremely ruthless and unforgiving in terms of speaking their minds. The bosses cannot mince their words and shouldn’t be afraid of anyone. This is exactly the kind of personality a team needs for effective leadership and handling the big egos of drivers in a team. Both Horner and Steiner share these traits and in fact, a recent incident also showcased their similar outlooks.

At the expense of Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton, both bosses shared similar views on “Diva” behavior around the paddock. On the TG1F podcast with Kate and Nicole, Steiner confessed, “Biggest diva? I think Lewis.”

Horner had similar views without naming names. “Great drivers and those who are really competitive, those who succeed in F1, must have a ruthless and selfish character, otherwise they are doomed to lose,” explained Horner. “But the challenge is to keep it under control. There is no room for a prima donna because at that point she becomes more important than the team.” 

WATCH THIS STORY | Christian Horner Sparks Rivalry: Toto Wolff’s F2 Remark Refuted

What goes around, comes back around we guess. However, if not Hamilton, who? But there still needs to be personalities to manage the egos of seven-time world champions.