How would the Red Bull Formula 1 team look without Christian Horner? How would Max Verstappen’s departure from the squad to drive for a competitor affect things? Which player, Verstappen or Horner, is more significant to Red Bull, if forced to choose?
To start with the last query, it depends on how long or short term we are discussing. Even without Horner, Verstappen would very likely continue to lead the team in races for the next year or two. However, following that?
The organization that supplies those vehicles and the racing crew that operates them is not as successful as it was by happenstance. Important decisions about hiring and investing, as well as strong guidance and leadership, are required to properly utilize the financial fuel that keeps it at the forefront.
No matter how well-funded, a rudderless organization would eventually lose the drive required to produce the cars that even a driver with Verstappen’s caliber of skill needs to succeed.
If Horner were to depart Red Bull, it would be difficult to find a replacement because he has developed naturally alongside the team as it has evolved from the tiny organization that took over the Milton Keynes location of Jaguar Racing and the former Stewart Grand Prix in the middle of the 2000s. The team’s structure has been woven with his vision as it has grown rapidly.
Now a multi-million-pound monster of its own industrial estate, the Milton Keynes location houses the sister RB team’s technological base in addition to the gigantic Red Bull Powertrains engine manufacturing complex.
Running a few hundred workers and overseeing operations from the pitwall on race weekend is no longer Horner’s responsibility. He is in charge of several thousand workers and hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of assets.
