Formula One: Christian Horner – The man behind Red Bull’s success
While Sebastian Vettel has been media favourite since becoming the youngest Formula One champion in the sport’s six decade history, many have forgotten that the man behind the German’s success was British – Christian Horner, himself, was is the youngest
Formula One team principal present.
The team principal was asked about the reason behind his instant success and had some interesting insight to offer..
The 37 year old advised that one should set one’s goals as early as one can. As a child, he was intrigued by the sheer speed of Formula One cars. His enthusiasm was fuelled by determination as he got the chance to make his way into motorsport at a relatively
young age. Horner added that while his class fellows at the university did 8 hours a day, he was doing the same hours daily. He had no regrets whatsoever for his decision.
The Red Bull team principal further added that age was no yardstick while standing up to a challenge. It was merely down to how one conducts oneself. It didn’t matter to him that he was seen by a couple of sceptics as too young to manage a team.
Understanding the structure and work patterns of the organization are an integral part for being successful. Dave Richards, the former F1 boss and chairman of the Aston Martin Company was nothing short of a mentor to Horner. It was down to his belief in
British motorsport fanatic that enabled him to get inside many organizations, with Prodrive in the forefront. The amount of education the 37 year old received there for his progressive growth had no substitutes.
Giving the example of both his drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, Horner explained that it didn’t matter what background you come from. What truly counts is your talent and determination to improve – That is what distinguishes the best from the rest.
Honesty is yet another trait that has long been underrated by many. This includes knowing one’s limitations and being intelligent enough to focus one’s energies into something that an individual is most effective at. In order to be successful, one always
needs to start from the bottom as things aren’t tailor made to suit one’s credentials – Intelligence, determination and long term goals act as the foundation to potentially successful ventures.
Nothing in this world is free or safe, in a manner of speaking. While one should know when to back down, it is equally important to take risks to be able to gain exponentially – The higher the risk, higher the return. Referring to an example in his life,
Horner revealed that he always had the safe option of being backed by good sponsorship. However, in order to realise his true potential, he went on to take complete ownership of his racing team. While the initial journey was extremely stressful marred by limited
cash flows, his determination paid off dividends and he was soon able to take the country higher without the cost of paying stockholders.
While cutting costs and being economical is an ideal opt for any entrepreneur, it is also important to look for the best talent. Having Adrian Newey to design the car for Red Bull was the right decision as he was reputed to be the best in the business –
Case and point: This season, Red Bull won the constructor’s championship. However, it is also important to get such individuals in tune as coordination is central to have a well oiled machine.
Christian Horner went on to highlight the general team spirit of the Red Bull team. There were a lot of unsung heroes this term in his opinion, rendering drivers to mere front-men. Another ingredient for continued stability was to accept mistakes and not
look for scapegoats.
In order to go forward, one must also be creative and be ready to think outside the box and have enough belief in one’s instincts – Intuition and Creativity can enable a team to go a long way.
One must also not play favourites, concluded Horner:
‘We win as a team and lose as a team’
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