Q&A with Red Bull’s Christian Horner 16 May 2010
How do winners celebrate? Red Bull’s one-two Monaco victory ended with both drivers in the Monte Carlo harbour and the rest of the team in the Energy Station’s swimming pool. A wet but grinning team principal Christian Horner is certainly happy…
Q: Christian, how does it feel to become a serial winner?
Christian Horner: Well, obviously it feels very good - in fact it’s fantastic. The Monaco Grand Prix and the Silverstone race are the two big ones for the team to win and to get a one-two finish here is a brilliant team result.
Q: You went to pick up the constructor’s trophy. Obviously Monaco is the place where team principals always go themselves…
CH: This is such a fantastic place and if both your drivers have delivered a one-two victory, well, on this occasion I went up. It was a great feeling.
Q: Did you envision such a result? Robert Kubica could have spring a surprise?
CH: Robert was fast all weekend long and he did a great job to push Sebastian hard through the race - and obviously we had to manage the tyre situation. All three drivers on the podium did a great job.
Q: Vettel said on Saturday that he hoped to out-accelerate Kubica into the first corner. Was that the strategy you talked about before the start?
CH: We have had very good starts this year and here again both drivers had excellent starts, and it was great to see both Red Bulls leading into the first corner.
Q: Is Vettel happy? He’s the kind of driver to whom finishing second makes him feel like he’s the first loser…
CH: Sebastian knew that Mark would be very difficult to beat. He gained a position at the start and both are leading the championship with the same amount of points - even though Mark has one more win under his belt - so Sebastian should not be too disappointed. It’s a long season and we are very fortunate to have two competitive drivers.
Q: How well do Vettel and Webber work together?
CH: There is a great balance, probably because of the particular characteristics of both drivers. They work together very well and for a team out to win championships it is always great to have two drivers who are at different stages of their career and that makes a great balance in the team.
Q: Will you have an ‘F-duct’ in Turkey?
CH: Well, it could play a role in Turkey. We are doing the research and for sure at the next couple of races we will have a look at it, but we will only introduce it when it earns a place on the car.
Q: Does it make sense to introduce it when the RB6 is outperforming all the other cars - those with and without an ‘F-duct’?
CH: We have to do all the R&D and the research, but as with all our upgrades it will only find a place on the car when it makes sense.
Q: Have you already received a call from Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz?
CH: I hope he had the opportunity to watch the race because I think he would have loved to hear the Austrian national anthem being played in Monte Carlo. It is a very proud moment for him and the team.
