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F1 fans woke up to a shock Wednesday morning, after news broke that Red Bull Racing was parting ways with longtime team principal Christian Horner. Though no formal reason was given for the split, the team’s decision comes amidst a difficult season for Red Bull, who have struggled to field a competitive car and find a consistent second driver behind star Max Verstappen, who has won the past four Drivers’ Championships but currently sits in third. Red Bull, meantime, trails longtime rivals McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes in the Constructor’s standings.
Some have speculated that Verstappen could have been a factor in the team’s decision to sack Horner, with the driver having been seen as increasingly unhappy with the lack of progress under the latter’s leadership (in an Instagram post late Wednesday, Verstappen did not address the rumors but paid tribute to Horner, writing, “Winning memorable races and breaking countless records. Thank you for everything, Christian!”)
Still, Horner no doubt understands the rules of engagement in the sport. In a 2024 book about Formula One, the 20-year team principal and CEO of Red Bull wrote about how F1 has always — and will always — singularly revolve around the person behind the wheel.
“The sport has changed dramatically over the 70-plus years of the F1 World Championships,” he wrote in the foreword to the book, titled Formula One: The Legends: Cult Drivers and Their Legacies. “Teams that might have been 10-strong in the early days now can boast 1,500 people. But, however complex today’s logistics are, it still comes down to the man in the cockpit when the lights go out on Sunday afternoon.”
As Horner notes, there is only a shared desire to win, and anything — or anyone — in the way of that could just be seen as collateral. “There’s a certain romance that surrounds racing drivers,” he wrote, “[but] they are an elite group of individuals bound by one common trait: an overwhelming desire to be the fastest. There is an inherent quest for speed that resides within, coupled with an insatiable thirst for victory. To win.”
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Horner’s entire foreword can be read in the F1 book, which is currently on sale for $36 on Amazon.
Written by F1 journalist Tony Dodgins, Formula One: The Legends profiles 32 of F1’s iconic drivers from the 1950s to the present day, offering a decade-by-decade look into the careers of stars like Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost and Aryton Senna, to Lewis Hamilton and yes, Max Verstappen too. Text on their triumphs and challenges are accompanied by full-color images, some of which have never been seen before.
As publisher Ivy Press notes, “This is a unique exploration of Formula One racing, with a focus on the most revered Formula One drivers of all time. A standout gift for fans of the sport, this collection includes expert photography to highlight the greatest moments of these drivers’ careers. Fascinating and insightful, with informed voices from the sport, this is a collection not to be missed.”
Originally released last March, Formula One: The Legends: Cult Drivers and Their Legacies is available as a 240-page hardcover coffee table book now on Amazon.
