Christian Horner has revealed that senior Red Bull figures personally thanked him following Max Verstappen’s victories in Malaysia and Singapore, the first two wins achieved by the team’s new power unit. The former Red Bull team principal believes the breakthrough represents one of the greatest achievements of his two decades with the Milton Keynes operation.
Ahead of the upcoming release of his autobiography, Drive, Christian Horner has continued to give interviews offering further insight into his 20-year spell in charge of Red Bull. Speaking to The Race, the British manager also discussed his current relationship with his former employers, which appears considerably warmer than might have been expected given the circumstances surrounding his departure.
Christian Horner reveals special Red Bull thank-you after Singapore
Christian Horner revealed that he received calls from senior Red Bull figures following Max Verstappen’s victories in Malaysia and Singapore. Those results represented the first two historic wins for the new Red Bull power unit, a project that Christian Horner had strongly supported during his time in charge and which had been regarded as one of the organisation’s biggest challenges heading into the new Formula 1 regulations.
The significance of the project had been clear even before the season began, when questions surrounded the competitiveness of Red Bull’s new power-unit programme against established Formula 1 manufacturers.
“The team is the one I put together and built,” Christian Horner pointed out. “The shareholders, even after the recent victories in Singapore and Malaysia, thanked me independently of one another, referring specifically to that aspect. Oliver Mintzlaff, in particular, very kindly called me after the Singapore race to thank me for what I created and for the results they have been able to achieve.”
Red Bull power-unit success ranks among Christian Horner’s proudest achievements
Although Christian Horner’s name is not formally attached to Red Bull’s victories in 2026, the former team principal made no attempt to hide the pride he takes in the results. The engine programme was one of the major long-term projects developed during his leadership, and its progress has remained a major talking point throughout the season as assessments of Red Bull’s power-unit performance evolved.
“The fact that this engine, on its debut, was considered the best-performing in Formula 1 and won at the 16th attempt is something I regard as one of my greatest achievements during my journey at Red Bull,” Christian Horner said.
The milestone also strengthens the significance of a project that had once been viewed as one of Red Bull’s biggest technical risks. The scale of the challenge had previously been compared with an enormous undertaking as the team prepared to become responsible for its own Formula 1 power unit, making the eventual breakthrough an important chapter in Red Bull’s 2026 engine project.
Christian Horner has also previously reflected on the creation of the engine operation and the speed with which the programme was built, describing the power-unit project as one of the achievements of which he is most proud. More background on his assessment of the programme can be found in Christian Horner’s earlier comments on Red Bull’s engine development.
Christian Horner says tensions with Red Bull are now in the past
After the tensions that characterised Christian Horner’s final year and a half at Red Bull before his dismissal, relations between the former team principal and the Austrian and Thai sides of the company’s ownership now appear to have improved considerably.
“I have a good relationship with both shareholders [Yoovidhya and Mark Mateschitz]; I really appreciated their comments and the messages they sent me. I met both of them after I left the team. It is water under the bridge now. The same applies to Oliver [Mintzlaff]: I can only wish them the best for the future.”
Christian Horner added: “It is a chapter of my life that I am proud of, both for what I did and for the results achieved; I will look back on 90% of the time I spent there with great affection.”
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