He had been told, in public, that if he stayed at the team, then the team would implode. He had been told that if he did not walk away, then Red Bull would crumble into a pile of dust at his feet.
But Christian Horner did not walk away and Red Bull did not fracture, and in the early hours of Sunday he sat at a table in the team’s hospitality unit, not as a Vegas gambler but as a man who regards a casino floor as a ship of fools.
Horner had just seen his leading driver, Max Verstappen, clinch a fourth successive world drivers’ title on the street circuit that runs through the heart of this neon temple to hedonism and excess. But as the reporters’ questions came at him and invited him to frame this triumph as his redemption story after scandal enveloped him at the start of the season, Horner steered away from that.
Like the rest of the team, he wore a jumper with ‘M4X’ printed on the front and he was unstinting in his praise for the inspirational effect Verstappen has had on the whole of Red Bull.
‘This one is a very special victory,’ Horner said, ‘because obviously there have been challenges this year. Max has scored double the number of race wins of any other driver. He has won it with two races to go. He has been head and shoulders the best driver in Formula One.
‘What he has done this year is cement his position among the greats of the sport. Both statistically and the way he has driven, that is unquestionable. It is up to us to keep providing him with a car worthy of his talent.
Max Verstappen’s glory in Las Vegas must also be viewed as Christian Horner’s finest hour
Horner, pictured alongside wife Geri Halliwell, was accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ with a female employee at Red Bull earlier this year and has navigated the storm with composure
Red Bull ace Verstappen won his fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship in Sin City
‘The last few years, he has won at a canter. This year, he has really had to dig deep. There are 1,000 people in our team who make these incredible cars and you need all of the departments to be working collectively to deliver big results. Max has inspired that.
‘Behind the scenes, he was putting a massive amount of effort in with the engineers and designers and on the simulator. He has been outstanding this year, not only with what he has done inside the cockpit but outside it, and the way he has conducted himself.’
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Horner is correct about all that and about the calmness and the skill with which Verstappen has gone about his business this season, and the maturity he has shown under pressure.
The way he got the job done here, the way he did exactly what he needed to do to put himself out of reach of his nearest challenger, McLaren’s Lando Norris, by finishing one place ahead of him in fifth, was redolent of a season where he has made precious few mistakes.
But even if Red Bull’s team principal would not say it himself, this was very much Horner’s triumph, too.
As Mercedes whooped and hollered in celebration of George Russell’s impressive winning drive, it was Red Bull who had won big.
It was back in February, on the eve of the opening race of the season in Bahrain, that Horner was accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ with a female employee at the team and a feeding frenzy of speculation about his position ensued.
It was announced in March that an independent investigation carried out by an external specialist barrister had dismissed the grievance against Horner. The complainant appealed but Horner was exonerated by a new independent KC at the beginning of August.
Horner was told Red Bull would implode if he stayed, but he has steered them to more success
Horner urged that adversity ‘will always galvanise a team’ after Verstappen’s triumph in Vegas
Halliwell congratulates Verstappen with an embrace after his podium finish in Texas last month
And if the controversy seemed like a maelstrom from the outside, Horner, 51, remained calm and assured at its centre. When Verstappen mentioned time and again on Sunday that he was proud of how Red Bull had ‘kept it together’ this season, that was down to Horner.
Verstappen is the matador but Horner is the orchestrator. He built this team and this is the eighth drivers’ title he has masterminded.
Verstappen may indeed be ‘head and shoulders’ above any other driver but Horner is the leader who pulls the strings.
At the start of the season, he kept his composure when everyone was expecting him to crack. He did not crack.
And if this was Verstappen’s greatest title victory, then it was also Horner’s. As the doubts of others swirled around him, Horner was a beacon of shrewd and consistent leadership.
‘Adversity will always galvanise a team,’ Horner said on Sunday. ‘There is huge pride in this championship.
‘There has been noise and speculation and all of that has been ignored. Most of all by Max, who has not been distracted. He has just got on with it and done the job.
‘We are a race team that focuses on going racing. That is what we love. It is a sport that attracts a lot of attention and media interest but the reality is we are a team of racers and Max is a racer and that is what he loves doing.
He was a beacon of shrewd and consistent leadership for Verstappen throughout the season
If Verstappen is the matador for Red Bull’s triumphant team, then Horner is the orchestrator
‘Yes, we kept it together. As a team, that’s exactly what we did. We stuck together. A couple of individuals have left but the core of the team has been united and worked hard.
‘I am grateful I have got a great team around me. This has also been about men and women behind the scenes at the factory, working long hours, early mornings, weekends, to keep getting performance to the car, and that is part of the reason why this means so much.’
‘I have a few more grey hairs this year but I’m already thinking about the next one. I think next year will be a thriller.’