Christian Horner heads one of the currently most successful Formula 1 racing teams in the world: Red Bull Racing. In the OMR podcast, the Briton talks to Philipp Westermeyer about what he considers the most exciting season in recent years. He explains what influence the Netflix series “Drive To Survive” had on Formula 1, why he is now sometimes even asked for selfies by fans – and how he came to race against the mother of his world champion driver Max Verstappen .
The golden days of Formula 1 – those were the years of the Michael Schumacher era in Germany. Millions of people watched the races on RTL and even set the alarm clock at night to be there live when the long-time record world champion did his laps in the red Ferrari. When Schumacher announced his retirement in 2006, the Red Bull racing team was just two years old. But the golden times, as we now know in retrospect, were only just beginning for Formula 1. “It’s fascinating how the business has evolved compared to what Red Bull bought from Jaguar in late 2004,” says Christian Horner. A team like Jaguar was worth 15 to 16 million pounds at the time. The largest Formula 1 brands are now worth more than one billion euros.
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The Brit with the German-sounding name is the team boss of Red Bull Racing. At 48, Horner is twice as old as the world champion Max Verstappen, who is currently driving for Red Bull. But among the team bosses, he is one of the youngest. Horner still raced in other competitions together with former Formula 1 drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld. Horner only made it into Formula 1 as a test driver and later as a manager. “The higher you get, the harder it gets. I was ok, but I was just average. I wasn’t good enough to be a good Formula 1 driver,” Horner openly admits in an interview with Philipp Westermeyer on the OMR podcast. Nevertheless, around 1.6 million people follow him on Instagram today – and Horner says that fans sometimes even ask him to take a selfie together.
A Netflix series is causing a new Formula 1 boom
The manager’s fame not only has to do with the fact that he manages one of the most successful racing teams in recent years and is therefore responsible for around 1,200 employees and 500 million euros in sales. Netflix also has a share in its popularity. “Drive To Survive” is the name of the series that has been shown on Netflix since 2019 about Formula 1. In the beginning, says Christian Horner, it was actually a Red Bull project. A production company should accompany the racing team for a year with the camera. But Formula 1 advocated showing not just one racing team, but as many as possible. “Netflix made it possible to take a look behind the scenes so that you get to know the drivers and the teams,” says Christian Horner. The streaming service played a key role in making Formula 1 interesting for a younger target group and attracting new fans. Apparently, this was also recognized at Mercedes and Ferrari. The two racing teams had decided against participating in the first season. But then, according to Christian Horner, they saw the success and joined in.
The success is currently fueled by Max Verstappen’s World Championship victory, which ends the long-standing dominance of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. “Series victories are boring, it drives people away from your sport,” says Christian Horner in the OMR podcast. Instead, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton would have ensured the most competitive season in Formula 1 in the past 40 years. Like heavyweight boxers, the two would have fought over 22 races, enthuses Horner. In the end, Red Bull had a happier ending.
150 travel days per year for Formula 1
From Horner’s point of view, such victories are the most important thing in business. Sales, ratings, fans, all of these are ultimately things that would develop automatically if the quality of the sporting competition is right. “Red Bull is in Formula 1 because we want to win,” says Horner: “We want to beat Mercedes, we want to beat Ferrari, we want to beat all the other manufacturers.” For this he is happy to accept the approximately 150 travel days, which also includes a season. Whereby: Long stays at the respective locations of the race are rather the exception. According to Horner, people usually travel to the race on Thursday and leave on Sunday.
If Christian Horner, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, has his way, new routes will soon be added: “China is a very important market for us,” says the Red Bull manager. But he can also very well imagine racing in South Africa or Argentina. “Formula 1 is in a good position,” says Horner: “It can be selective about where it hosts its 23 races because there is so much competition between different markets.” March starts to have the record number of 23 races for the first time. However, due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the race in Sochi was canceled for this season.
In the OMR podcast, Christian Horner reveals which race tracks he likes best, what differences there are in the philosophy of Mercedes and Red Bull and why the Formula 1 petrol orgy and the fight against climate change are not mutually exclusive.
The topics of the podcast with Christian Horner at a glance:
- From karting kid to Formula 1 top manager (00:04:00)
- Race against Max Verstappen’s mother (00:09:45)
- That’s why Formula 1 is booming (00:14:50)
- The special features of the 2021 season (00:19:15)
- The best advertising space in Formula 1 (00:23:20)
- How to Spot a Talented Rider (00:27:20)
- How Christian Horner Became a Star Through Netflix (00:32:15)
- The role of Bernie Ecclestone (00:36:30)
- Which countries are eligible for further races (00:40:55)
- What Formula 1 can learn from other sports (00:45:30)
- A life of travel (00:50:15)
