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u/ToroRossoAlphaTauri Pierre Gasly Nov 16 '22
Whether you like him or not, he's done a fantastic job keeping Red Bull competitive for most of their seasons since they first hit the front. He started at a relatively young age of 30, and he is currently the longest active team principle. I'd say he deserves praise and recognition for what he has done for the Red Bull F1 team.
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u/BoredCatalan Alexander Albon Nov 16 '22 edited Nov 16 '22
Specially without an actual car company behind him, which always forced him to be a customer team for engines
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u/newdecade1986 Sir Frank Williams Nov 16 '22
But on the other hand that always left him the freedom and security to run a full-blooded racing team, without having to worry about politics or changing strategic priorities behind the scenes
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u/tecedu Force India Nov 16 '22
that always left him the freedom and security to run a full-blooded racing team, without having to worry about politics or changing strategic priorities behind the scenes
Wut? He still had to satisfy Dietrich and why they were spending so much. Redbull has had so much politics behind the scenes
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u/lastskudbook Nov 17 '22
Who does he have to satisfy now Dietrich has gone, There’s been a bit of turmoil (Max/Perez and the Sky fallout)since he passed,it’s like Max has seen an opportunity to flex and Christian is having to deal with it.
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u/OldWiseMann Nov 16 '22
Which shows exactly why Ferrari and Alpine will never be successful again of at least not for a sustained period
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u/marsianwalrus Sir Lewis Hamilton Nov 16 '22
Ferrari was always a car manufacturer with a lot of backdoor politics, yet they were plenty successful in the past.
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u/Less_Tennis5174524 Anthoine Hubert Nov 16 '22
Back then the racing was first priority and the road cars mattered less. It has gradually changed over the years so the road cars came first. Enzo would explode if he saw that his company is making an SUV.
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u/SilveRX96 Alain Prost Nov 17 '22
Enzo wouldnt give a shit as long as that SUV makes a ton of money to fuel the racing team. He always looked down on his customers anyway and never cared for his road cars
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u/White_Flies Nov 16 '22
I see what you mean by saying "without politics" >> not having to meet car manufacturer demands.
However there were plenty of drama and politics and posturing just because the racing team and engine suppliers were separate. Just remember all the shitslinging with Renault. Also the months where it was a possibility that red bull wouldn't even have an engine suppliers at all.
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u/ProtonPacks123 Red Bull Nov 16 '22
Of course he does, people may not like the guy but nobody can deny he's one of the most successful team principles in the history of the sport.
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u/Ch4rlie_G Charlie Whiting Nov 16 '22
Is Principle a British spelling of the word? In the US it would be Principal.
Curious as I’ve seen it multiple times in the thread. Is this like color vs colour?
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u/ProtonPacks123 Red Bull Nov 16 '22
No, I just got the wrong word. It should be principal. Principle is a noun that means like a basic truth.
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u/16CLeclerc Red Bull Nov 16 '22
In the UK, Principle means rules (eg. "Moral Principles") and Principal means most important (not necessarily a person)
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u/AltieA Sebastihomer Simpsttel Nov 16 '22
He's by any measure a great TP. Anyone that disagrees is hugely biased. He's taken a brand new team and made it a staple in F1 while navigating some rather tricky incidents.
Happy Birthday to Horner.
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u/BlackHillBoy10 Nov 16 '22
Honestly Christian seems a really nice guy. He can get heated, but that's Formula 1. Outside of F1 he seems a nice family guy.
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u/Bit-Random Nov 16 '22
I don’t know if he’s a nice guy or not, but I absolutely feel that even when he’s being cheeky or angry or aggressive, he sees it as doing what’s best for the team. He is a leader through and through.
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u/ImJustAConsultant Nov 16 '22
Outside of F1 he seems a nice family guy.
The guy who cheated on his pregnant wife with ginger spice?
I'm not trying to hate on him, it's his life. But calling him a nice family guy is a bit much.
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u/symckr Alexander Albon Nov 16 '22
Cheating on pregnant wifes is definitively a Red Bull thing...Thanks to Kyvat, Max is safe for now.
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u/poeswell Red Bull Nov 16 '22
Pretty sure he didn’t cheat on his wife (I might be wrong), but he left her when their son was like 6 months old to be with ginger spice. Still pretty shitty, but not cheating.
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u/baldbarretto Who's that? Nov 16 '22
They weren’t married but she had been his partner for 14 years. He went public with the relationship when the kid was 6 months old, and they were engaged a month later - so who knows how long it was going on before they went public
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/geri-christian-horners-romance-family-25683279
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u/PMMeYourCouplets Esteban Ocon Nov 16 '22
People with newborns break up. It's not what society considers normal but it should be a acceptable thing to do. We don't know the full story and shouldn't judge him on it
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u/Lucky-Doughnut-3985 Nov 17 '22
I know quite a few people that stuck in bad relationships just because they knocked them up. Just because there’s a baby doesn’t mean they’re happy etc
I can’t be mad at the guy either that he landed ginger spice lol
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u/arcticrobot Honda Nov 16 '22
Why is this shitty? Breakups are the most common thing. Staying together just for kids is not healthy
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u/gee_what_isnt_taken Nov 16 '22
Then don't have the child in the first place. Once the child is born it is absolutely unhealthy for the child to have a broken family. No matter how you slice it, this is a black mark for Horner.
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u/doornz Mercedes Nov 16 '22
Shit happens. People break up, that's life.
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u/gee_what_isnt_taken Nov 16 '22
That's life for the past 60 years, sure, and there is no reason to think people are happier as a result.
Before that, the individual made a (private) decision to put their collective's (family) well-being ahead of their own. The irony is that the line of thinking that rejects that notion instead puts forward the notion of sacrificing the individual for the collective on a much grander scale.
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u/ChicagoThrowaway422 Nov 16 '22
Nah, divorce was mostly illegal or nearly impossible and people were trapped.
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u/arcticrobot Honda Nov 16 '22
So, for at least 2 generations, right? It all depends what happens after. I personally don’t have kids but I know a couple who each had kids with their exes and they raised them responsibly and with love. For as long as parents don’t abandon them it is better for kids to be outside of toxic failing relationship. Ask me how I know.
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u/ImJustAConsultant Nov 16 '22
I guess only they know for sure. I just remember reading a breakdown of how ginger spice pursued him in the paddock on several occasions over a pretty long period before he left his wife for her. I don't remember if there were allegations of cheating, but certainly allegations of emotional cheating (something about her sitting on his lap and him seeming pretty enamored with her long before he left his ex?), and certainly he did fall for her.
As other comments have said these things happen. But when you relent and go with the prettier woman who wants you but is not your pregnant/newly mother wife, you kind of have to lose the badge of "family man". More like "Hollywood man" at that point
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u/baldbarretto Who's that? Nov 16 '22
Ginger spice pursued him
when you relent
Yes …Horner clearly has no agency in his own choices, he is a hapless babe seduced by that wily spice girl hell-bent on home wrecking. she wore down his moral ramparts and even a monk could not have resisted her despite best intentions
It takes two.
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u/bigcashc Nov 16 '22
Sad how many people commenting are of the mentality that there is nothing wrong with this.
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u/crucible Tom Pryce Nov 17 '22
Outside of drama, something 'general' about F1 will come up between races, say TV rights, and he usually has a reasonable take on things.
I can definitely see him moving to a Ross Brawn sort of role within FOM post Red Bull.
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u/Flurp19 Who the f*ck is Nelson Piquet? Nov 16 '22
I always forget we share birthdays. Here’s to us, Christian!
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u/qin_barca Zhou Guanyu Nov 16 '22
That makes three (or more) of us :). Happy b-day!!
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u/symckr Alexander Albon Nov 16 '22
He aged like 5 years this weekend all thanks to Max lol. Happy birthday Horner!
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u/InternetExplorer34 Max Verstappen Nov 16 '22
same with toto lol, ive never seen him with so much wrinkles him since last year
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u/Ho3n3r Nov 16 '22
It's actually insane how old he looks now. I am rewatching the 2010 season currently, I know it's been 12 years, but he looks about 35 then and almost 60 now.
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u/OutlandishnessPure2 Max & Friends Nov 16 '22 edited Nov 16 '22
If you have time, listening to him discuss how he runs RB as TP is really interesting! Some links:
- Beyond the Grid episodes 1 | 2 | 3
- Interview with High Performance
- Discussion at Cambridge Union
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u/8jam Hannah Schmitz Nov 16 '22
ooh yes the Cambridge one is a very good shout.
I listened to that one while I did my chores and I kept stopping in the middle of doing something just to hear the complete stories he was telling. Honestly pretty fun discussion
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u/ChicagoThrowaway422 Nov 16 '22
Your comment made me watch it and now I'm glad that I did. It was very good.
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u/8jam Hannah Schmitz Nov 16 '22
Good to hear mate! We dont get to see this side of the higher ups very often. So if there's a vid like this, always give it a chance, most of the time they're absolutely worth it!
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u/Ben77mc Martin Brundle Nov 16 '22
I'm going to listen to it tomorrow during work, sounds like it'll give a great insight into that world of F1 and him himself. Cheers.
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u/M4TT145 Nov 16 '22
Happy birthday my favorite little shit stirrer! While I don't often find myself agreeing with his takes these days, I understand the role he plays as TP and I don't think F1 would be the same without him.
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u/Jack_Marsta Nov 16 '22
Love him or hate him, he's unarguably one of the greatest TP's in F1 history.
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u/Ben77mc Martin Brundle Nov 16 '22
Reminds me of a Sir Alex Ferguson of F1 (maybe needs a few more years, but still). The kind of manager you love to hate, but would do anything to have on your side.
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u/Ozora10 Mick Schumacher Nov 16 '22
Top 3 id say
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u/BlackHillBoy10 Nov 16 '22
- Toto Wolff
- Jean Todt
- Christian Horner
🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
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u/Alzaraz Nov 16 '22
I guess people forget Frank Williams already.
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u/baldbarretto Who's that? Nov 16 '22
Frank shouldn’t make the top tier. his ego lost Adrian newey. His unwillingness to adapt cost Williams sponsorship opportunities. so many drivers who passed through his team left with a bitter taste in their mouth - or were unceremoniously dropped with a bitter taste in their mouth. He freely admitted he didn’t really respect his drivers and saw them as fairly interchangeable seat-fillers
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u/Alzaraz Nov 16 '22
And still lead them to be one of the top 3-4 successful F1 teams ever. You could probably argue Williams, Mercedes and McLaren for spots 2-4 with RB 5th
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u/baldbarretto Who's that? Nov 16 '22
A team can produce successful results without its leader ranking among the best or greatest to do that job
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u/Ozora10 Mick Schumacher Nov 16 '22 edited Nov 16 '22
Jean Todt
Ross Brawn
Christian Horner
Toto Wolff
I really like Toto but he inherited a pretty well run team from Brawn.
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u/PsychologicalArt7451 Nov 16 '22
Ross brawn no. 1 for me. Everything else stays the same.
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u/MyNameIsSushi Sebastian Vettel Nov 16 '22
- Ross Brawn
- Ross Brawn
- Christian Horner
- Toto Wolff
There you go.
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u/PsychologicalArt7451 Nov 16 '22
If Ross brawn goes up everyone drops 1 down.
Ross Brawn Jean Todt Ross Brawn Christian Horner Toto Woff
/s
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u/Dyils Red Bull Nov 16 '22
Christian built RB from nothing. Why is Toto above him? He ran well what he inherited, but he didn't built it from nothing.
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u/darthchloe Charles Leclerc Nov 16 '22
Don’t ask me to wish him happy birthday, I won’t, okay? Are we clear on that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it
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u/YorkshireRiffer Nov 16 '22
Welllll.... aahhhh, I just want toooo... aaahhh, saayyyy thanks to aaahhh, all my family, Max, annnnddd... aaahhh... everyone back at the factory in Milton Keynes.
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u/appl_eater Nov 16 '22
Horny for horner!
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u/ajacian Red Bull Nov 16 '22
Quite possibly one of the greatest TPs ever, and you can see that the engineering team and mechanics really fight for him. That's such a camaraderie in the team and the fact that the culture he has created is what attracted people like Adrian Newey speaks volumes about him. He also has a way of deflecting bad attention from RB into himself, saving the team from some distractions
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u/gabrielbezerra81 Max Verstappen Nov 16 '22
Happy birthday! And what an amazing gift he received from Max this past weekend haha
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u/Fef_ Nov 16 '22
I share a birthday with the horndog, very cool.
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u/Tmotech Lando Norris Nov 16 '22
GP: "Max do you want to pitch in some money on a gift for Christian?"
Max: "I told you already last time, you guys don't ask that again to me, OK? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it”
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u/xLoneStar Max Verstappen Nov 16 '22
Happy Birthday Christian! F1 since the late 2000s would never be the same without you.
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u/oikukas Nov 16 '22
Why not mention his age in the title or in the picture? I would imagine it is sort of relevant.
He is 49 years of age now for anyone wondering...
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u/theclipclop28 Nov 17 '22
Being a team principal of a winning team at 37 and then winning 4 times in a row, and again 9 years later is really impressive.
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u/Ho3n3r Nov 16 '22
Oh, these comments should be good, and not salty at all.
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u/bigcashc Nov 16 '22
Well a lot less so than I imagined. Though I haven’t done the ‘sort by controversial’ yet.
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u/rolfski Nov 16 '22
Happy B-day to the best shit stirrer on the grid, who also happens to be a masterful team boss!
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u/LovesHisYogurt Jack Aitken Nov 16 '22
Surely you can’t start wishing Christian’s a happy birthday until December 25th?
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u/Fart_Typhoon420 Nov 16 '22
Today is also my birthday. I couldn't be more proud to share it with the GOAT
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u/15abella Toto Wolff Nov 16 '22
oh lord he’s a scorpio 💀
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u/15abella Toto Wolff Nov 16 '22
not sure why i am getting downvoted! i am a proud scorpio as well! just a self aware one who realises we are crazyyy
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u/Tsarsi Max Verstappen Nov 16 '22
probably because no one with a functioning brain believes in astrology xd
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u/Zestyclose-Cricket82 Nov 16 '22
I’d wish you a happy birthday but I won’t, I have my reasons, don’t ask me again
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u/zethuz Nov 17 '22
Would love to see RBR win another championship without Newey
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u/BlackHillBoy10 Nov 17 '22
Newey really should go to a lower team like Williams and see what he can do there
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u/TaxSpecific1697 Nov 17 '22
He is redbull
Top tier shit stirrer sure but anyone at redbull is replaceable but him in my opinion
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Nov 16 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/erelster Sebastian Vettel Nov 16 '22
Of course he will back Max, they also did back Seb didn’t they? Might be difficult for some to accept but Checo will never bring a championship to Red Bull, Max has already brought 2. Why do some people act like they don’t have a clue about how things work?
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u/Tinusers Sebastian Vettel Nov 16 '22
Because you know everything that has been said behind closed doors right..
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u/thecustardgannet Nov 16 '22
Friend of mine who works with private jets met him at Baku a few years ago - said he was a really nice guy and took the time to have a proper conversation with her. Apparently he was asking how he came across in DTS!