One of the most successful team leaders to ever compete in Formula 1, Christian Horner succeeded
in taking the Red Bull Racing team from underdog to a six-time Constructors’ and eight-time Drivers’
Championship-winning powerhouse that defined a two-decade era of F1 competition.
Following a career behind the wheel and then at the helm of his own triple Formula 3000-winning
Arden International, in 2005 Christian was recruited by visionary Red Bull founder Dietrich
Mateschitz to lead the company’s first transition from motorsport sponsor to F1 team ownership.
And following the drinks’ company’s purchase of the failing Jaguar team, Horner, at just 32 years of
age, was appointed F1’s youngest ever team principal.
Improvements were delivered with impressive immediacy. A double points finish on the team’s
debut at the 2005 Australian turned into 34 points and seventh place in the constructors’ standing at
the end of the team’s maiden season, while smart recruitment across the business put in place a
development path that would result in consistent gains over following seasons.
Christian’s first win as an F1 Team Principal came just four years later, at the 2009 Chinese Grand
Prix, and the breakthrough would lead to five more victories that year. Over the following four
seasons, Christian led the team to its first great era of dominance, delivering a quartet of
consecutive Constructors’ and Drivers’ title wins, an achievement that was recognised in 2013 when
he was awarded an Order of the British Empire, by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The introduction of hybrid power in 2014 led to a reset of the competitive order but while titles
proved elusive and wins became increasingly difficult to achieve, Christian set about a rebuilding
programme, gradually steering the team back towards competitiveness through the acquisition on
new talent and, in 2019, with the arrival of a new power unit partner, Honda.
It was also in this period that Christian began diversification of the business with the 2016
establishment of Red Bull Advanced Technologies to apply the team’s F1 expertise to high-tech
solutions for external organisations. The project would eventually lead to the development of the
Aston Martin Red Bull Valkyrie, created in association with the sports car manufacturers, and the
company’s own RB17 hypercar.
On track, competitive revival led to three wins in 2019 and two followed more in 2020. Then, at the
end of an epic campaign, Christian led the Team to its first title in eight years when Max Verstappen
secured his first Drivers’ Championship title.
Another new challenge awaited in 2022 as the sport ushered in the most comprehensive regulation
changes seen in four decades, but just as with the 2009 campaign, when inspired design and
operational brilliance delivered competitive dominance, Red Bull Racing marched to its second great
era of success. As well as winning another Drivers’ title with Verstappen in 2022, Christian took the
team back to the top of the teams’ pecking order with a first Constructors’ title in nine years.
The following season was even more successful, with the team delivering the most dominant season
ever seen in Formula 1, with the team taking 21 wins from 22 races, as well as a seventh Drivers’ title
and a sixth Constructors’ Championship win.
At the end of 2023, in recognition of the team’s phenomenal success, Christian was elevated in the
King’s New Year’s Honours List to the rank of Commander of the British Empire (CBE).
The 2024 season presented challenges on and off track and while Max Verstappen claimed a fourth
straight Drivers title, the tightly contested teams’ battle resulted in the team missing out on
Constructors’ trophy.
With yet another new era of regulations on the horizon, Christian began to plan for the future and in
2021, Red Bull Powertrains was created to design, build and develop the team’s own power unit,
which in 2023 resulted in a new partnership with automotive giant Ford to create Red Bull Ford
Powertrains.
However, having put in train the Team’s progress towards a new era of competition, Christian left
Oracle Red Bull Racing in July 2025 and is now embarking on new projects designed to recapture the
competitive speed, spirit and ceaseless quest for perfection that made Red Bull Racing a true F1
legend.
2005 – Appointed Team Principal of Red Bull Racing
2010-2013 – Team wins four consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ championship doubles.
2013 – Awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
2016 – Establishes Red Bull Advanced Technologies to apply F1 innovation to wider business and
society.
2019 – Signs deal with Honda for supply of power units
2021 – Leads team to first Drivers’ Championship title since 2013. Establishes Red Bull Powertrains
to build Oracle Red Bull Racing into a wholly independent full chassis and power unit constructor by
2026.
2022 - Wins Drivers’ title for sixth time and takes Constructors’ title for first time in nine years.
2023 – Leads team to most successful season ever with 21 wins from 22 races. Agrees partnership
with Ford to create Red Bull Ford Powertrains to develop power units for 2026 and beyond.
2023 – Named as Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in King Charles III’s New Year’s Honours
List
2025 – After two decades at the helm, leaves Oracle Red Bull Racing