23/12/2021
NEWS STORY
Christian Horner has extended his contract with Red Bull, thereby committing the Briton to the Austrian team until 2026.
The Briton has been with the team from the outset, though Dietrich Mateschitz had desperately wanted former racer and BMW boss, Gerhard Berger for the role.
Guiding the team through the embarrassing days of the Formula Unas, towards the end of the team's first season Horner pulled off the masterstroke of luring Adrian Newey away from McLaren.
Between 2010 and 2013, Red Bull won successive titles with Sebastian Vettel, having already given Jenson Button and Brawn a late scare in 2009.
Particularly hit by Renault's failure to get it right as the hybrid era got underway, Red Bull eventually made the brave decision to switch to Honda, despite the Japanese manufacturer's disastrous return to the sport with McLaren.
While the debate over the final destination of this year's title still rages, there is no doubting that Christian Horner has assembled a formidable team, now about to go down the route of power unit production also.
Speaking to Servus TV, Helmut Marko confirmed that Horner has extended his contract.
"Christian is the team principal, he is in the public eye and I am more in the background," said the Austrian.
"But we coordinate things quite well," he continued, "we set the direction of the team, and also of our staff.
"In political issues we usually speak the same language, and I believe our success proves us right."
Referring to the decision to appoint Horner to the role in January 2005, just eight weeks before the team's debut, Marko admits: "Dietrich Mateschitz said, 'Christian who?' in the beginning as Christian had zero experience in Formula 1.
"But I already knew him from Formula 3000 and other junior categories and I knew about his ambitions and skills. Now that has developed into something great.
"He is a charismatic team boss who, by the way, even before you, was in the process of extending his contract until 2026," he added, pointing to fellow guest, world champion Max Verstappen.
"Within the whole team, or at least the top positions, we want to have stability for the transition years coming up, when the new engine regulations come in and when the new chassis regulations come in, so that we have a solid team for that."