Christian Horner has been cleared of allegations made against him by a female employee. Horner has denied any wrongdoing over the matter and Red Bull said the “grievance has been dismissed”.
The team principal of Red Bull had previously dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver himself, but moved into team ownership and eventually led one of the most successful F1 teams in recent years. Since its inception in 2005, Red Bull has secured six constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ championships under Horner’s watch.
Christian Horner is the team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing and a former racing driver himself. Born on 16 November 1973, his family were already involved in the car industry. Horner’s grandfather worked as a purchasing manager for Standard Motor Company, before helping Garry Horner - Christian’s father - to create an agency which supplied components to motor manufacturers.
Horner started his career as a racing driver competing in the British Formula Renault Championship, British Formula 2 and British Formula 3, before taking a step back from driving in 1997 at the age of 25.
He made history when he became the youngest-ever F1 team principal when he joined Red Bull Racing in 2005 at 31 years old. Having led the team since, Horner is also the longest-serving team principal on the F1 grid.
Like many, Christian Horner’s racing career began in karting before he achieved his Formula Renault scholarship in 1991. He was then given a British Formula Renault Championship seat with Manor Motorsport in 1992, where he ended the season as a race winner and was the highest-placed rookie.
The following year he finished second in the Class B Championship of British Formula 3 for P1 Motorsport, after winning five races. He moved to Fortec in 1994, ADR in 1995 and then TOMs in 1996, but was unable to secure any further race victories in the championship. In 1996, Horner also competed in the British Formula 2 championship before moving up to Formula 3000 in 1997
He made history when he became the youngest-ever F1 team principal when he joined Red Bull Racing in 2005 at 31 years old. Having led the team since, Horner is also the longest-serving team principal on the F1 grid.
Like many, Christian Horner’s racing career began in karting before he achieved his Formula Renault scholarship in 1991. He was then given a British Formula Renault Championship seat with Manor Motorsport in 1992, where he ended the season as a race winner and was the highest-placed rookie.
The following year he finished second in the Class B Championship of British Formula 3 for P1 Motorsport, after winning five races. He moved to Fortec in 1994, ADR in 1995 and then TOMs in 1996, but was unable to secure any further race victories in the championship. In 1996, Horner also competed in the British Formula 2 championship before moving up to Formula 3000 in 1997.
Christian Horner (GBR), Alan Docking Racing. British Formula 3 Championship, Silverstone, England. 15 August 1995.
Photo by: Sutton Images
Alongside his father, Garry Horner, Christian founded the Arden team to compete in the championship. He raced in both the 1997 and 1998 Formula 3000 but scored just one point in the two years - finishing 21st in 1997 and 33rd the following year.
Arden was set up by Christian Horner in January 1996. According to Horner, he used borrowed money, including a loan from his father, to set up the team, as well as persuading P1 Motorsport founder Roly Cincini to become the team’s race engineer.
He also purchased a second-hand trailer from Helmut Marko, who was head of the Red Bull junior team in Formula 3000 and at the time was one of Horner’s biggest rivals. He competed in 1997 and 1998, being joined in the latter by Kurt Mollekens, who at one stage led the championship.
In a pre-season test at the Circuit de Estoril in Portugal, Horner was behind Juan Pablo Montoya when he realised that he was “not capable of replicating the level of commitment” shown by the other driver. This helped him solidify his decision to step back from driving at the end of the season and focus on building Arden to be a successful team, as its team principal.
After making the decision to retire, Horner then signed Viktor Maslov and Marc Goossens to compete for the team in the 1999 Formula 3000 season. At the start of the year, a 50% stake in the team was purchased by Dave Richards’ Prodrive organisation on behalf of Lukoil - a Russian oil company run by Maslov’s father - but Horner purchased back these shares after just one season.
Goossens was replaced for the 2000-2001 season by Darren Manning, who scored one pole and two podium finishes. The team also competed in the Italian Formula 3000 with Warren Hughes in 2000, where they won three races and finished second in the championship.
In 2002, Arden secured the team championship with Tomas Enge and Bjorn Wirdheim, taking five victories between each other - four for Enge and one for Wirdheim, with Enge winning the drivers’ championship before being demoted to third place after failing a drug test.
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