Christian Horner's Comments on Ferrari Resurface After Red Bull F1 Exit
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Christian Horner's thoughts about the Ferrari F1 team have resurfaced after his abrupt exit from Red Bull Racing on Wednesday. The Milton Keynes-based team announced it was parting ways with Horner with immediate effect.
Horner served Red Bull for 20 years, playing a big role in achieving six constructors' championships and eight drivers' championships. Red Bull showcased its most recent dominance under his leadership in the current ground effect era that began in 2022. The following year, in 2023, saw the outfit secure 21 Grand Prix victories out of a 22-race calendar.
It was in the same year that Horner was asked about a potential move to Ferrari. The then-Red Bull boss stated that Ferrari must prioritize becoming a winning team, and admitted that heading it was a high-pressure job. He said:
"I think the biggest problem for Ferrari is that it's a national team. It needs to get back to being a race team.
Scuderia Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner arrive in the paddock together during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on...
Scuderia Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner arrive in the paddock together during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 26, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico. More"It's an Italian institution and there's probably too many people at the top end. Everybody has an input and has a say.
"From the outside looking in, one of our strengths is that we move quickly, we make decisions and we stick to them. And if we make the wrong decision, we change the decision.
"I think, for Ferrari, the newspapers have such an influence on what happens there. So it's a lot of pressure being at Ferrari."
Rumors about Horner joining Ferrari swirled again in the paddock during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend a few weeks ago. F1 journalist Joe Saward recalled Ferrari chairman John Elkann's interest in Horner back in 2022 and revealed whether the Briton would still be interested in leading the red team. He wrote:
"This story was true about three years ago when Ferrari chairman John Elkann jetted over the England and dropped in to see Christian and asked him if he would like to move to Maranello. Horner said 'Thanks for the offer' and Elkann rang his pilots and told them to spool up the jets.
"Horner's response is unlikely to change if Ferrari does come calling again, but he said that they had not. For many in F1 joining Ferrari is considered a career move akin to throwing oneself on a bonfire (with a flameproof wallet) because the team seems to be unfixable. It is nearly a generation since Ferrari won its last Formula 1 title.
"It is probably inevitable that Vasseur's future is beginning to be questioned. He has been there for a couple of seasons and things have not gone particularly well."
While these were Saward's thoughts about Horner before his Red Bull ousting, it remains to be seen if Horner would change his mind about Ferrari after Red Bull parted ways with him.
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