The UNTOLD Story of Christian Horner

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Red Bull Racing has won 11 championships in 17 years during their time as a manufacturer in F1, and there’s been only one constant through all of that success - Christian Horner.
He was a complete unknown when he entered the sport but now sits amongst great names like Chapman, Williams, Todt and Dennis.
He has an incredible story - from failing as a racing driver, to forming his own team - all the way to leading Red Bull to 11 championships. So how has he done it?
He even came across a young Scott Mansell on his way to F1 - but we will get to that.
📹 All source footage can be found here 👉 bit.ly/3Fj9W1c
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#ChristianHorner #DriveToSurvive #Formula1

[@moiz04]

Just a fact to remember. Since horner is rb principal there have been 5 ferrari principals.

[@h.i.5280]

Good point!

[@helderboymh]

Is this including the new one that will come next year?

[@moiz04]

@@helderboymh no till date.

[@helderboymh]

@@moiz04 so next year it's 6 and probably the year after it's 7 ( as I believe the new one is a temporary replacement) That's impressive

[@moiz04]

@@helderboymh and that is the main issue with ferrari. Principal needs autonomy and authority. Like wolf and horner. Have you heard wolf is going to be replaced after having this bad year. The issue lies with system at ferrari.

[@JamesNew-jx8kp]

The fact that Adrian Newey stayed at Red Bull throughout their draught years show the incredible leadership of Horner.

[@sparqqling]

Yup giving him side projects to keep him entertained, the America Cup boat and the Valkyrie.

[@joereality1664]

Specially when other teams, like Ferrari, tried poaching him.

[@prodbybabygod7411]

Then ground effect came back and horner wouldve cried with happiness knowing he made the right call 🤣😭

[@MrDannyboyhall]

Nothing to do with him it’s was red bull giving him shitloads of money and letting him do as he wished was nothing to do with this little leprechaun

[@_qwe_fk_1700]

i mean if you want success in F1 then RB was the 2nd best option in the 2014-2021 era i guess.

[@WTH1812]

Not to be overlooked is Horner's focus. Exposing problems, finding solutions, spotting talent in and out of the car, seizing opportunities before other teams did, not hiring Scott Mansell 😁, learning all aspects of the business, and keeping his focus through the ups and downs is a truly unique talent. Bonus: Horner's superior eye for talent let Scott Mansell take a job at Driver 61 and produce these excellent videos.

[@AntiVaganza]

well, it wasn't overlooked in this video - it was pretty clear, but granted, the word itself wasn't used;)

[@VectorAero]

To sum it up, he's just a great leader. He is the kind of leader all of us supervisors and managers in our ordinary day jobs aspire to be.

[@hammertimee777]

People always make fun of Christian Horner as a failed racing driver. But he can probably outdrive most people. Anyone who had experience in open wheel racing are extremely capable drivers even if they couldn't make it into the formula racing.

[@kennethbyington516]

Absolutely even levels below F3 are still top 1 percentile without a doubt.

[@stekarenhd6911]

Lmaoo of course? Anybody who made it further than junior carting is undoubtedly an amazing driver

[@daarom3472]

F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. Just imagine being branded as a terrible football player because you don't consistently finish among the top 10 or 20 in ballon d'or every year? Even Latifi is a tremendous driver, he only seems bad due to the insane competition.

[@hammertimee777]

@@daarom3472 agreed. Latifi could beat almost 99.99% of the people if they’re all given the same car on the same track.

[@daarom3472]

@@hammertimee777 probably more! If you assume about 2.5 billion drivers worldwide and him being top 50 at the least. Means only 1/50M drivers are better or 0.0000002%! Means he's better than 99.9999998% of drivers ^^

[@Tunda2]

He really switched from F1 22 to F1 Manager. Much respect to the man, inspiring for anyone in any field who has management aspirations.

[@bramhaenen3451]

Nah I don't have respect for Horner as long as the helipad isn't maxed out

[@zqzj]

I'm a Lewis fan, but I must say that Horner is admirable.

[@MisoElEven]

@@bramhaenen3451 The guy drove, ran and owned his own team all at the same time for a while... cant have anything but respect for the man. Despite his ability to stirr shit in the paddock :D

[@bramhaenen3451]

@@MisoElEven Ever heard of a joke because this is one

[@CobraAce04]

@@bramhaenen3451 man won using an off meta build.

[@tommiesturkenboom3862]

The fact that he sold everything to build his own team from a shed blows my mind. That he made that work is unbelievable

[@maneki9neko]

I imagine his better friends tried to talk him out of it. This is typically not a good career move.

[@jon-unicorn-doxxer]

@@maneki9neko NIki Lauda did it before...well he prob get a good timing and oppurtunity

[@markuss4133]

Yeah this has nothing to do with Red Bull and the insan money they pushed into the sport, Adrian Newey, having a second team and stuff like this

[@OsellaSquadraCorse]

@@markuss4133 He's talking about Arden, not Red Bull. Maybe watch the video...

[@markuss4133]

@@OsellaSquadraCorse oh, my bad

[@Drrolfski]

In his role in addressing the media, Horner has over the years grown to become the absolute master shit-stirrer on the grid. This man has developed an ability to move poop to places people could never imagine and the ways he managed to get under the skin of the likes of Cyril Abiteboul and Toto Wolff are legendary.

[@Danker19991]

I’d say Toto this year has proven to be just as much of a shit stirrer as Horner. At the same time I can’t knock either of them for it. That’s how the sport is played from the administrative side and clearly Horner and Toto know what they’re doing when they say what they say in the media.

[@radamus210]

Toto Vs Christian will go down as legendary in the sport. They are both amazing at moving piles of shit around and spreading the stink even when it doesn't belong. It's certainly entertaining and enjoyable. Can't help but like both of them in their own way.

[@asdfgh123456978]

Can you explain a bit more about how he’s a shit stirrer? New to the sport and would like to know more!

[@astridbrouwer3465]

@@Drrolfski oh come on! Using DTS as a lead to understand how F1 works is poorly! DTS is a manifactured show to lure the Americans into liking F1! It has absolutely nothing to do with reality!

[@gold9994]

@@Danker19991 You just don't like or like Toto Wolff, he's very straightforward. But with Horner, he's very annoying.

[@tartusmaximus179]

Love him or hate him Christian horner is probably one of the greatest team principles in the sport

[@pe-peron8441]

He certainly is, together with Toto Wolff, and Jean Todt in the past

[@david.r7]

@@pe-peron8441 yeah, totally agree

[@vrajpatel2763]

@@pe-peron8441 I woudn't say toto yes he is grt principle but he has only seen yrs of suceess his real challenge is now so we'll see

[@pe-peron8441]

@@vrajpatel2763 We'll see, you're right. But I don't agree with your point: if Mercedes has seen eight years of dominance the credit is in no small part due to Toto, and it shows: for example, in the various grill the grid videos with the TPs he has always amazed me more than all the others for the sheer lucidity, and sometimes cynical nature, of his answers, proving in my eyes much more surprising than Christian Horner, who is also an extremely quick-witted person and someone I admire a lot. I think that to say that he had no merit because of Mercedes' success really starts from the wrong basis: if Mercedes has had great success, both in the quality of the car and the quality of the drivers, the credit is his more than anyone else's.

[@0megalul309]

@@pe-peron8441 toto is reaping the benefits of brawn and msc.

[@irwinkevincarpio]

Damn impressed by Horner. Whatever he lacked in high level racing talent, he made up for in grit and determination

[@d.e.b.b5788]

We've seen how important the car is, and I don't remembering him ever having top level vehicles. Lewis had one championship, then unable to repeat until 2014. Seb had four in a row, then no more. Michael had five in a row, then nothing, overtaken by Fernando. Jenson was a routine journeyman racer, until he got a overwhelmingly superior car and then won a WDC ONCE, then nothing. It has to be a good driver, PLUS a great car.

[@srxt6758]

​@@d.e.b.b5788 Jenson was matching Lewis and even beat him in 2011. Lewis certainly didnt give him a trashing. Jenson even scored more points than Lewis in their 3 year run at Mclaren. Jenson is definitely one of the weaker champions but to say he didnt even have a smugde of talent and his car did the work for him is absurd.

[@taylordonnert8480]

This was awesome to watch. I would watch a whole series like this eagerly.

[@flintstone1409]

Absolutely!

[@MattO109]

Yep!

[@InfinityX2]

Ditto

[@notkevin7662]

Yup

[@antasena6043]

Agree

[@k20cam47]

He just signed my hoodie at the red bull homecoming this weekend, the 4 and half hour drive was totally worth it. He gets a lot of stick but he went round almost every single person and took the time to see them, such a great bloke.

[@Boomhauersdad]

Lol ur such a fan

[@stavrosk.2868]

Horner eats, breathes and lives motorsport. Incredible man.

[@franciscomackereth4860]

“Horner definitely had an eye for talent, it doesn’t help my case” had me dead 😂😂😂

[@unklesuga1644]

Not a RB fan by any stretch but much respect to Horner's vision and mind set to have that team being where they are.

[@autogema]

This race truck (3:24) build by Autogema 😎Thank You for using our photo in Your video :)

[@mindaugasm4708]

Great work!

[@markhowells13]

i have never got the hate for Horner, he has always struck me as a damn talented operator. at that level of the sport the amount of knowledge and skills and leadership you hae to have is insane. You have to have to be able to understand NASA level technical level conversations, Goldman Sachs level financial conversations, Sactchi and Satchi level marketing conversations, play politics like Tallyrand, and then be able to lead a bunch of people way smarter than you. Anyone who can do that to this level of success deserves respect

[@jw550w0r9pw]

Taking the risk to start your own team like that just shows how hard you need to work to be successful

[@Peanutdenver]

100%...and if you stay resilient the money, fame and your choice of a Spice Girl are the rewards. Dude has really fought and won the battle, even if his career in F1 ended today.

[@Julian-ty2ps]

Turns out there was another untold story

[@ralphaverill2001]

Christian Horner has always been one of my favorite F1 personalities. That is even more so now that I know th remarkable story of his career. Thank you.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

The secret to his success was marrying a Spice Girl.

[@TheShrike616]

Definitely spiced up his life

[@slv_jonathanc15]

And if he wanted to be her lover, he gotta get with her friends 🔥🔥🔥

[@aaronallen943]

Andy, are you in Beaverton, Oregon? I’m in Onalaska, Washington. 80 minutes north. Came up here from Hillsboro! As soon as I saw the video title, I said to myself… He married Ginger Spice. Of course he’s made for life, now! 🤣

[@michaelironsights8347]

"behind every great man is a great woman"

[@Kingston.screams]

This is the only truth

[@virtualjack9927]

hes also very good at managing. He trust his employee and just leave them to do their thing. He does not intervene if things does not go his way, instead he change his viewpoint on the thing and just use the standings as the result of his employees work.

[@m25533]

He is great at managing indeed and really values everybodys effort and contribution. Remember the Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo incident ? He made them visit the factory and apologise to the workers and engineers in front of everybody in order for them to remain humble and realize what they've done and to not take their work for granted. It shows humility, a concept which few people in the F1 paddock understand.

[@xqs329]

Horner is a great people's manager. That gets you brilliant people working for you, and brilliant people give you the results.

[@fifthbusiness1678]

Excellent video. Thanks for putting this together. I’d no idea of Horner’s story and it’s completely changed my opinion of him.

[@piuthemagicman]

Scott, you're a magnificent storyteller! Mad respect for Horner. I've sometimes wondered where he came from and this blew my mind, he is one focused and intelligent self made man. He deserves all respect especially for creating a mostly friendly and open environment for his staff. :)

[@michaek7438]

Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that he truly is one of the greatest team principles our sport has ever seen and for that he deserves the utmost respect and credit

[@toddb930]

Great story! When I first saw the title I thought maybe Christian was a former SAS operator.

[@thenullco]

Just discovered your channel. As a fan of F1, a video producer, and a keen driver, I can really appreciate the amount of work you must put into this channel. Incredible.

[@JamesNew-jx8kp]

If this guy is a CEO for a business. I would love to work there.

[@aslamnurfikri7640]

He is CEO of Red Bull Racing

[@Jazman96]

That was awesome. Great storytelling. Horner has a strong case for being the greatest F1 team principle ever, and he’s only half way through his career. I can’t wait to see how Verstappen and Redbull will perform for the next 5 years. It’s possible we’re seeing the rise of the greatest Principal, Team & Driver combo ever.

[@thestig007]

Such a well done video. I didn't know the history of Christian. No idea he pretty much started the business on his own and then got some big names to join.

[@Yvolve]

Great video! Crazy to think he started a team in his backyard, looking at current single seater racing and the money involved. I'd love to see one of these about Helmet Marker and Toto from Africa. I've read bits about their career but this is a great format for their stories I think.

[@radamus210]

Nice piece dude! I could've watched a 2 hour version but you packed a lot into this one. I have to say I am a Christian fan for his leadership, sportsmanship. He is good at all the aspects of F1 both on the track and in front of a mic. I became a fan because of D2S because he's always up for a chat when the cameras are rolling, nothing to hide with an opinion to give, and he's good at it. Super piece -

[@zzvyb6]

Your own presentation style and your pace make this story incredibly interesting. I took in every word. usually I can't make it half-way thru these history lessons ! Nice job. MORE !

[@Saimun81]

Excellent in-depth video, well paced and interesting content. Christian Horner is one of the great characters in F1 that make it while watching aside the racing part. Keep these video's coming.

[@SheldonGoh]

This was brilliantly made and presented. Thoroughly enjoyed it, well done!

[@Dream-Academy]

@Driver61 that was very enlightening and entertaining. Horner may have rejected your driving skills but he would appreciate your story telling! Cheers mate!

[@awesomefacematt]

People focus on hating Horner so much they forget how good he really is

[@apocello42]

They hate him because he's so good. He's that player that you hate but secretly wish was on your team.

[@_qwe_fk_1700]

doesn't help that some fans try their hardest with making up fake stuff and really pushing the narrative to create more hate against him. I mean if you ask among lewis fan how many think that he said that "lewis wanted to kill max" in Silverstone probably 95% would say yes. But he never actually said this. Just like they misinterpret a lot of stuff what is said by Horner and Marko on purpose so they have somehting to be angry about. Like Helmut saying: Lewis probably thinks he should have retired (when the car was shit in Imola. Then the Lewis fans changed that to Helmut thinks Lewis should have retired. Gives a completely different meaning. And they make sure that every single out of context quote that can be turned into something controversial gets turned into something controversial, while if they would stop picking something out of context all the time what was said is generally nowhere near what the fans claim Horner/helmut actually said. Funnily enough when Toto suggested Max did the MOnza crash on purpose their was not outrage about that or when the Merc employees said that Max got what was coming for him. So they also make sure that everything negative about Mercedes doesn't get attention. This is my experience from r/formula1 on reddit and it certainly doesn't help that somehow if you are a Lewis fans you don't get banned for violating subreddit rules again and again, despite the comments getting removed.

[@Squilliam-Fancyson]

Horner vs. Sulayem was the best part of fridays FIA gala.

[@thejonathanrath]

Great video learned a lot. The man is a living legend. Not a RB fan but nothing but respect for Spice Girl's arm candy.

[@mikerochelle4816]

Thank you for this perspective on Horner's leadership. It is a great story and he is phenominal!

[@ericmackintosh5933]

Fantastic film!! Very well produced and really enjoyed all the old footage. Keep up the great work!

[@cellshaded]

What a lovely video. Thank you. And I think Christian Horner deserves all our thanks too for his amazing outlook that made his achievements a reality for all of us.

[@ladymanners618]

I knew most of that story about Christian however you straightened out the chronology, filled in the blanks and stressed the dominant relationships and philosophies that were largely responsible for the successful evolution of Redbull to me. All acheived in an interesting, easy to listen to tone without extraneous over detailing. I really enjoyed your interesting explanation of the early days and people (esp. Christian) of Redbull, their roles in the development of the company and their tenacious single mindedness regarding success. Thank you.

[@UKPete]

Great video!. I didn't know anything about him till now. and it's bloody impressive what he has a achieved.

[@BogdanFlorea86]

I love this video and your story telling, Scott! This is your best one so far. Congratulations!

[@FelipeWeckx]

Great video, love the documentary style and very complete. Congrats!

[@Hoolygan4ever]

Saw these " untold" stories in 3-4 other videos about him, he also mentioned them in interviews over the years. Retold story

[@StateBiscuit]

That's how it is on KZbin and wider internet. Everything is a clickbait or a misleading title.

[@irtifairshad2646]

The thing about Horner, Max and Redbull is their no “damn” giving mentality. The openly admit they are aggressive and leave no stone unturned. They have no problem in saying their piece. This is the thing about mercs that rubs me wrong, that they become hypocritical at times. F1, despite what some old fans say, is getting more exciting and these teams are becoming more fun to stand behind, whether you love RB, Mercs or any other, the sport itself has become very fun over the last two year and will get better.

[@m25533]

I couldn't agree more I think you nailed it just right on the head. You just said it all really, I would just add that they are just being themselves and that is indeed refreshin and authentic, particularly in the F1 paddock.

[@safcjcp]

Completely agree, they admit what they are, merc operate the same as rb but pretend they are the nice guys

[@naycnay]

Also agree. Even Mercedes, which feels ultra-corporate in comparison is so much more open. Ferrari are getting much better too as they used to be super rigid and closed doors. But it's not just the teams, the drivers are so much freer to express themselves which makes you end up liking all of them. The 2022 season has proven with the new aero that the racing can be closer than it has been for ages. I think 2026 with the new proposals for smaller cars with synthetic/sustainable fuels and no MGU-H to mess the sound and simply the designs; F1 might just find a new golden era. All the access, all the racing and all the spectacle in person.

[@CosmicSeeker69]

The HUGE difference was pointed out in depth by Scott. There was only One Boss and they were/are very yoff orientated. Mercedes on the other hand are one of the oldest and most legendary manufacturers AND their market is executive and above owners. The only common denominator is F1

[@detmer87]

True legend!

[@romanfambach9692]

this is an awesome video! really enjoyed it! thanks for taking the time to make it!

[@kemosabe8313]

Love the history lessons! Super cool. Didn't know all of that about Christian.

[@paulmcleod2547]

Fantastic video, I'd love more deep dives into other F1 team principles and engineers. Really highlights the teams behind the drivers.

[@JW-sw6sz]

All my respect for Christian Horner for building Redbull racing as it become today, with all his success. Don't forget Helmut Marko and Andrew Newey. They also played a crucial role in Christian Horners life.

[@wonjoomin]

Thank you for an amazing content!!! Certainly can appreciate Horner more now than ever, as a team principal and as F1 driver

[@BURN447]

Horner is one hell of a force to be reckoned with. If he wants something, it really doesn't seem to matter what's in his way

[@caiovitormoreira5445]

Very nice content. Thanks for putting it together and sharing 👍🏼

[@kiwitones]

Its great to see you laugh at yourself so often. Refreshing and always so informative and enjoyable to watch. Thanks for the story of Christian. I'd kinda gone off Red Bull recently because of how he controls the narrative but hey...the man is a purebred winner. I see that now.

[@tradingbadm]

This was an awesome video. Great breakdown from early age to dominance.

[@Colin_Barnes]

Solid video! Didn't know half the facts in this story. Loved it.

[@rameenana]

Thanks for making this video, guys. As always, informative and kinda fun to watch.

[@rcnhsuailsnyfiue2]

Brilliant video! More like this please :) The only thing missing was the picture from his saucy magazine photoshoot… 😂

[@jaycwc]

Great content and awesome storytelling! Definitely helps that you're in the industry

[@siddarthjay3787]

Really well researched man! No idea where I’d have found this information myself

[@taylorpreston9632]

What an excellent video. Driver61 is unparalleled in their quality of production and research.

[@Fantic156]

Brilliant video, comprehensive, accurate and so informative, thanks 😜 It'd be great to see more F1 'personalities', by which I mean Team Principle, Chief Designer/Technical Officer, various team members stories, maybe the evolution of some teams through their team owner changes through the years etc ...

[@Andrew-zx9wx]

What am awesome presentation! Makes me admire Horner and RBR even more.

[@tobbe1980]

This change my view on RB Racing. Amazing stuff Driver61 thank you!

[@ChrisMisMYhandle]

Great video. I'm sure it took a lot of work. Appreciate it. 👍

[@TheAngryWexican.]

Great video. Horner is a legend, knew his shortcomings, changed his career direction. Fair play to him.

[@b1lleman]

Great video. I watch a lot of videos but this is top notch. Thanks.

[@ryanbotha7256]

What a brilliant video! Seriously, excellent! 👏🏻

[@prodrivebrasil]

That was a great video! Thank you!

[@Nats934]

this was like a rly good vid. Keep up the good work

[@johnthomas8605]

I have really enjoyed your videos over the past few years. They have probably been the only thing to keep me even mildly interested in F1. It would be awesome to see a similar channel, say "rider 61" that had a similar format and content to the Driver 61 channel and it look at F1 but for Moto GP. Keep up the interesting content.

[@abiosismlg613]

I’m already subscribed so all I could do was give it a like and a share of the episode. Loved it👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@LVQ-so5th]

That was an excellent post. Thanks.

[@andrewspence3171]

Way back I ran a small amateur race team, hiring some formula Vees . I honestly cant remember the year, but we got a phone call asking if we had a spare seat for a driver who needed a signature on his licence. We had a spare car, an American Caldwell, rather overweight and too much understeer, but the only thing we had spare. Christian turned up, and finished his race, somewhere around eight place I think, not bad considering the car was not really competitive. He was a nice guy and we enjoyed having him drive. It never crossed my mind where he would get to. Certainly a very good leader.

[@964cuplove]

I think he’s a great figure in F1 and the fact that his temper occasionally comes through a bit more than as seen with others makes him very relatable.

[@bucksguineapigtalks]

Great video - brilliant. Thank you.

[@damsel5755]

What a great story, I am so impressed. Love him or hate him, Horner is already a legend of the sport.

[@lancealex382]

Fascinating! Great video thanks

[@JoshuaC923]

Mad respect!

[@ZeLoShady]

This was really enjoyable to watch! I had no idea what Horner's background was but goddamn does he deserve to be where he is today. Seriously impressive work ethic and brains.

[@bdjm8595]

Excellent content presented excellently!!!

[@sined704]

I subscribed for your technical videos, but all your videos are exciting and worthwile, even this one while I don't really appreciate Horner. I would like to see a video of yours about Adrian Newey. Love&gratitude 🙏❤

[@badisheffey4550]

Well-made video. Please keep it up!!

[@douganderson771]

Good job Scott , You explained most of the Red Bull success very well. Thank you . I'm a huge F1 fan and enjoy a peak behind the curtains of the teams and their leaders. I think Mr. Horner has done a very good job and I look forward to his interactions with his drivers . 2023 is going to be a great year for F1.

[@ramarkble101]

Thanks for this one. Horner gets less respect for his work. Even in the down years he stayed in the top three. And now he maneged to win again.

[@dmitriysolodukha9646]

Amazing video! Thanks!

[@mavadelo]

Great video. Thank you for this career overview.:)

[@roxo1697]

Please Do the same video about Toto and Mercedes! 🙏🏼

[@Cloxxki]

Excellent video! Horner seems to sniff who's the right person for a job.

[@rogeliogamboa7644]

Sir, loved your story - right on - laid it all out - F1 fan since 1954 - when I watched my first F1 GP *

[@TheSterlingSound]

A really well done video, congratulations

[@teddyshepherd2854]

Interesting, and a great presentation, thank you. I had a small chuckle when you quoted Horner following JPM through a corner. You wouldn't have been the only one at the time to come to the same conclusion, Christian.

[@dimitarvenedikov]

Funny thing is that Toto has similar story with Alex Wurz.

[@nettur3950]

i absolutly enjoyed watching and listening to this. thank you

[@richardcondon8738]

Excellent video!

[@MrArchie800]

Looking at social media Horner gets a lot of hate BUT he is undoubtedly one of the best and most effective team principals in modern day F1

[@millie1810]

Quality content as always.

[@kenmcdonald7793]

well done and presented! Thanks