Christian Horner admitted biggest Red Bull blunder at United States GP left him regretful
Christian Horner was involved in one of the most farcical days in the history of Formula One in the early days of his Red Bull tenure, which he labelled his biggest regret
Christian Horner once labelled the 2005 United States Grand Prix fiasco as his biggest Red Bull regret. New fans of Formula One may not know that two decades ago, there was only one US-based F1 race, held in Indianapolis, compared to the three now on the calendar.
This weekend's racing took place at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, which has long been the home of the US GP. Red Bull enjoyed a memorable weekend, with Max Verstappen winning both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix in Austin, closing the gap to Championship leader Oscar Piastri to a mere 40 points.
But, as Verstappen eyes a potentially historic comeback to secure his fifth consecutive title, Horner watched the events unfold from home, having been suddenly dismissed as team principal and chief executive in July after nearly 20 years at the helm of the F1 team.
Despite leading the team to huge success, including eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championships, Horner was abruptly relieved of his duties.
The 51-year-old admitted earlier this year that he poured his ‘heart and soul’ into the F1 team.
When still in charge, Planet F1 asked Horner in June about the one thing he'd change from his tenure at Red Bull if he could turn back time.
Interestingly, Horner didn't mention his texting scandal, bitter rivalries between drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, or the departure of design chief Adrian Newey in 2024.
He instead went all the way back to his first season at the 2005 US Grand Prix, where just six cars actually competed in what became a massive PR catastrophe for the sport.
The rest of the field withdrew on the advice of tyre suppliers Michelin, who said their compounds were not safe for the track layout, leaving fans furious with the lack of action.
Red Bull pair David Coulthard and Christian Klien were among those who returned to the pits following the formation lap. And Horner remains convinced the sport should have handled that day far better, expressing his regret over how events unfolded.
“I look back now, and I look at Indianapolis 2005 and I think we could have done a better job there,” he said.
“There was a lot going on, and the teams that were running on a certain tyre manufacturer didn’t race.
“I think, as a sport, we could have done better then. You’re always learning in this business. If I had to pick one moment of the 21 years, that would be it.”
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