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With both Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez in the F1 title fight, Christian Horner is the man in the middle
It has been a dream start to the 2023 Formula 1 season for Red Bull. The defending Constructors’ Champions are the clear class of the field, having secured victory at each of the first four races of the 2023 season. Along the way, drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez have finished 1-2 in two different races, first the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and then a week ago in Azerbaijan.
With Verstappen and Pérez sitting 1-2 in the Drivers’ Standings, the team is faced with the prospects of chasing down a second-straight Constructors’ title while their two drivers are dueling for the Drivers’ Championship. And the person who could be caught in the middle?
That is none other than Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, who will be making some of the critical decisions over the next few months.
Horner addressed the challenges of handling this situation during Friday’s press conferences in advance of the Miami Grand Prix.
“I think that it’s a luxury problem, first of all,” said Horner on Friday. “Wow, I think any team principal in the pit lane would hope to have that issue.”
In Horner’s mind, the first step is avoiding paranoia. Ensuring that both drivers feel the team is behind them is critical to success. “And it’s something we’ve experienced before. And I think the most key thing is, as Toto was mentioning, is to ensure that paranoia doesn’t creep in and that both drivers are treated equally,” said Horner. “You go to pains to provide equality, to the point of who drives out the garage first each weekend, you know, it alternates. It even alternates in the debrief who talks first.”
Still, the quirks of the sport — and the traits necessary to be a successful race car driver — pose additional challenges.
“But you know, it’s racing it’s Formula 1, and occasionally something will happen like a Safety Car or a pit stop and you can’t control every aspect within the sport. There are still variables,” added Horner. “And I think so long as the drivers know that they’re both getting an equal chance and it’s ultimately down to what they do on the circuit, that’s where you want it to play out, not through reliability, for example, to play a key role in a championship fight between your two drivers within your own team.”
One reason that Horner is in this position this season? The start from Pérez. Verstappen is the two-time defending Drivers’ Champion, and he is already on the board with two victories this season. But Pérez has two victories of his own, and last week became the first driver in the history of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to win for a second time.
Horner addressed Pérez’s start to the season on Friday.
“Checo’s had a fantastic start to the season: two victories so far. The Sprint race victory as well. And you know, obviously a second place and a fifth place as well. So, he’s started the season stronger than he’s ever done,” said Horner. “And I think that, as we all know, confidence is a big thing in in any sport and Checo’s confidence is sky high, and this Championship is going to be a marathon and there’ll be highs and lows to it along the way, I’m sure but, his challenge, and the challenge for both drivers is maintaining the consistency, and for sure we’re going to see these guys [Mercedes] turn up and Ferrari at some point, so it won’t just be about our drivers.”
Horner also addressed Pérez’s prowess on the streets. Pérez’s last five wins have come on street or temporary circuits: Monaco and Singapore last season, Saudi Arabia at the start of this season, and now Azerbaijan twice.
The Red Bull boss had this to say about the “King of the Streets:”
I think certain circuits have always suited him. I mean, street circuits, he’s always excelled at and as we move back into Europe, some of the more classic circuits, that’s where I think he’s going to need to take this and carry this confidence, which I believe he absolutely, absolutely can do – but he’s not driving particularly differently. I think this is his third year in the team, he’s settled, he understands obviously how everything works and yeah, he’s in a good headspace right now.
Interestingly enough, some of the best advice for Horner regarding balancing two drivers who are fighting for the Drivers’ Championship might have come from his counterpart at Mercedes, Toto Wolff. Wolff has been down this road, balancing Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as the two childhood friends battled it out years ago for Mercedes.
Wolff, who was alongside Horner during Friday’s press conference, had some thoughts on the subject.
“I can tell you from my past, it’s a super tricky job for Christian and the team, because both drivers will obviously try to always feel that they’re fairly and equally treated, whilst at the same time, trying to have an advantage,” said the Mercedes boss, and newly-minted Harvard Adjunct Professor.
Wolff continued:
“And I think in our team, it was important to maintain a lot of transparency and clarity, discuss things before we actually go racing on a Sunday. Put boundaries. And, at the end, both drivers, even with Nico and Lewis, respected the team’s opinion, whilst we acknowledge that they have a fight between the two of them. So going back in time, there’s things I probably would have done differently in 2016, particularly, but the balance right between accepting these two guys are racing for a championship, and it’s within the same garage. And at the same time, they are part of a larger structure. I think that is not always easy, because they are very competitive animals.”
Horner, in response to the same question, seemed to take the lesson to heart.
Albeit with that F1 flair.
“We just do everything Toto says but just a bit better.”
It was a throwaway line — and a humorous one at that — at the start of a longer answer outlined above, but the truth of the matter is that Wolff might be the best shoulder to lean on for Horner. As the Bulls remain the dominant force on the track this season, the most enticing storyline might be a potential title fight between Verstappen and Pérez.
That was the situation back in 2016, when Mercedes was the class of the field and Wolff had to balance three different goals: Winning the Constructors’, winning the Drivers’, and making sure his drivers both felt they had an equal shot at the World Championship.
Wolff accomplished that task in 2016, now we wait to see if Horner can pull it off “just a bit better.”
