Team principal initially had Bernie Ecclestone’s backing in a sport where his rivals would otherwise have eaten him alive
When Christian Horner took his seat at a Formula One team bosses’ meeting for the first time in 2005, barely into his 30s and a surprise appointment to head the new Red Bull team, he was stepping into a world populated by legendary figures. Sir Frank Williams, Ron Dennis of McLaren and Jean Todt of Ferrari had spent their lives fighting and winning in a deeply complex, intensely competitive and highly politicised environment.
Horner might easily have been eaten alive, like so many before him, had he not benefited from the support of a patron whose power exceeded that of all his rivals.