Christian Horner in talks for five-year Red Bull contract extension after Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 title win
Horner has served as team principal since Red Bull entered the sport in 2005
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Your support makes all the difference.Helmut Marko has confirmed that Christian Horner is in talks with Red Bull over a five-year contract extension.
Horner has served as team principal of the Formula 1 outfit since it entered the sport in 2005, and the Briton oversaw Max Verstappen’s dramatic drivers’ championship victory this season, the first of the Dutch-Belgian’s career.
Now Marko, head of Red Bull’s driver development programme, opened up on his relationship with Horner in an interview with ServusTV, adding that the 48-year-old is due to extend his contract with the team.
“Christian is the team principal, he is in the public eye and I am more in the background,” Marko said.
“But we coordinate things quite well, we set the direction of the team and also of our staff. In political issues we usually speak the same language, and I believe our success proves us right.
“Dietrich Mateschitz said, ‘Christian who?’ in the beginning, as Christian had zero experience in F1.
“But I already knew him from Formula 3000 and other junior categories, and I knew about his ambitions and skills. Now that has developed into something great.
“He is a charismatic team boss who, by the way – even before you [Verstappen, who was also present] – was in the process of extending his contract until 2026.”
While Mercedes claimed an eighth straight constructors’ championship this season, Verstappen grabbed the drivers’ title for Red Bull in a controversial final-lap finish in the last race of the year.
Having started on pole, Verstappen trailed Lewis Hamilton for the majority of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but a safety car emerged late in the race and the FIA chose to allow Verstappen a one-lap shootout with the defending champion.
Verstappen, 24, overtook Hamilton to dethrone the 36-year-old and prevent the Mercedes driver from winning a record eighth world championship.
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