Horner: Me missing a race would be like Fergie missing a match

Craig Slater F1 Reporter Christian Horner: Red Bull chief reflects on historic 2023 Formula 1 season and looks ahead to 2024 challenges Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater joined Red Bull team principal Christian Horner at his home to discuss a historic 2023 Formula 1 season and the prospect of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren launching title challenges in 2024 Last Updated: 30/12/23 10:54pm Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Sky Sports' Craig Slater joins Christian Horner at his home in England to chat about the challenges facing Red Bull next season and to get his own lesson on horse riding! Sky Sports' Craig Slater joins Christian Horner at his home in England to chat about the challenges facing Red Bull next season and to get his own lesson on horse riding! What a difference a change of paddock makes.  At the season's end, Christian Horner swaps a paddock of vendettas, politics, cranky media, pampered celebrities and frenzied fans, for a grassy one with a few horses. At his Oxfordshire home, complete with "another kind of paddock" for his horses, he resists any notion Red Bull have been winning at a canter. "We're still recovering from 2021, I didn't have any grey hairs before then," he responds, when asked about Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton potentially fighting for a world championship again.Is he more conscious of the toll his as team principal job takes? Horner turned 50 in November. He's still F1's second youngest team boss, but if his stables offer "recharge time", there must be precious little of it. "You've got to be accessible," he says. "I see my role as team principal and CEO. For 52 weeks of the year, I am CEO of a high performing technology business with Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Power Trains and Red Bull Advanced Technology. If I am not at the racetrack, I am in the factory from Monday to Friday. As team principal, I attend every single race. I have attended every Grand Prix Red Bull have competed in since 2005. People need to see the boss. (Not attending a race) would be like Alex Ferguson not going to a football match." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Max Verstappen wins yet another Grand Prix to close the curtain on the 2023 F1 season Max Verstappen wins yet another Grand Prix to close the curtain on the 2023 F1 season Sir Alex enjoys his horses, and Horner refers to his (kissing one on the muzzle) as "part of the family". Is football kinder to family life? Premier League teams are full of young dads. F1 almost feels like a form of birth control. Only three drivers (Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen) are parents. Williams boss James Vowles recently welcomed his first child at 44. Is a work-life balance possible?"Leaving home and leaving family is always tough for anyone that travels a lot," Horner says. "2023 was a tough calendar - 2024 looks even more so, with even more races. The most important time is when you are at home with the family. You leave the phone on the sideboard. I've got a young family and that time is very precious. I try to make (the school-run) a bit of a thing, if I can get back on a Sunday evening. If I can take the children to school on a Monday morning, it is a bit of normality."Being 'dad' to the Red Bull family is his other normality. After 18 years in the hotseat, is he now adept at dealing with drivers' egos and sibling rivalries? How Horner manages the return of 'prodiga'" Red Bull son Daniel Ricciardo at Alpha Tauri with Sergio Perez still incumbent at the senior team, over the coming months, will be interesting."Checo is a very capable racer and being Max's team-mate is a very tough gig," he says. "I think he has shown real mental strength to be able to cope with that. The area he needs to focus on is Saturday; making sure that his average qualifying is a lot closer to Max. We need him starting further up the grid, particularly if the grid is going to converge. We can't afford to have a lot of cars between him and Max. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says 'everything is open' for the team's second seat in 2025 with incumbent Sergio Perez and AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo set to be among their options Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says 'everything is open' for the team's second seat in 2025 with incumbent Sergio Perez and AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo set to be among their options "2024 is a big year. A lot of drivers' contracts are coming to a close. We've got great talent in our own stable. Of course the car is very attractive for other drivers to want to be in." When asked if there have been echoes of Ayrton Senna offering to drive the Williams for nothing, Horner says: "There's been a little bit of that, but there's no g