When Christian Horner decided to get rid of Guenther Steiner at Red Bull
Guenther Steiner is famously known as Haas' team principal and is quite a star on Netflix’s Drive to Survive. However, his Red Bull stint in Formula 1 was something to note as well.
Steiner made his F1 debut with Jaguar in 2001 and remained with them after Red Bull purchased the team in 2005. He was appointed as the director of technical operations of the team and Christian Horner became the team principal. The duo worked together until 2006 when Adrian Newey made his entry into the team.
After that, it was thought that the team was getting overcrowded and Steiner was moved to the USA to serve as NASCAR team Red Bull's technical director. He later made his way into Haas.
Horner, while talking to the newspaper 'i', mentioned why it is important to have the right people at the right place for a team to work efficiently.
"It’s about getting the right people in the right roles, empowering them, creating the right atmosphere. At Arden, people did not need to know how close to the wind we were sailing, the risks that were being taken. It was seat of the pants stuff."
Red Bull boss believes Guenther Steiner was not a good technical 'leader'
Christian Horner mentioned that Guenther Steiner was and is a 'character'. However, highlighting his work in the technical department of the team, Horner believes that he was not a very technical leader.
According to him, the team needed someone who was more apt in the work and could give direction to the team, and thus, Adrian Newey.
"Guenther was and is a character but it was obvious he was not a technical leader. I identified what the team really needed was technical leadership and direction. So from a very early stage, I made a point of bumping into Adrian."
Adrian Newey's knowledge of Formula 1 is quite apparent, looking at all the championships the team has brought in. As of now, the team has six drivers titles and five constructors titles and a lot of credit goes to Newey's car design.
The RB-19, too, looks in very good shape in 2023. The team has dominated the two rounds that have been held until now. It seems extremely hard for any of the teams to catch up with Red Bull, and it has been speculated that more and more teams will start following RB's concept to remain competitive.