Red Bull boss Christian Horner reveals Daniel Ricciardo’s best quality

RED Bull team principal Christian Horner talks everything from engine deals to the future of F1, and his favourite Daniel Ricciardo quality.

SPA, BELGIUM - AUGUST 22: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Infiniti Red Bull Racing prepares to drive during final practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 22, 2015 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

RED Bull team principal Christian Horner answers a series of fan questions on everything from engine deals to the future of F1, and his favourite Daniel Ricciardo quality.

Who is going be Red Bull’s engine supplier next season?

We have an agreement with Renault.

As premium providers?

The terms of the agreement that we are premium partners is quite explicit.

How long will it take for Red Bull to return to the winners’ circle?

“A very good question. Hopefully not that long. It’s a big gap that we have to reduce but we are working very hard on it.”

What are your best and worst moments of 2015 so far as a Red Bull team principal?

The best moment has to be the podium in Hungary. The worst moments probably have to be Melbourne when we weren’t able to start the race with Daniil Kvyat and all the problems we had there.

What’s the best quality of both of your drivers?

Their speed, their commitment, their enthusiasm and the fact that they are both working as team players is fantastic. And Daniel Ricciardo’s dance moves!

Do you miss the tension between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel?

Not really … but what tension? There was no tension. They loved each other!

Both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz are having very good first seasons. In order to keep the rookies from being poached, could Daniil or even Daniel’s position be under threat?

Inevitably there is going to be a concertina effect but that is probably a year away and it is good to keep all the drivers honest. Investing in youth has proved to be tremendously successful for Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel and the two Daniels in our cars and with now Max and Carlos, two very promising young talents coming through. For us, it is a great situation to have.

Horner says it’s healthy having strong competition between his drivers.

Do you think you should have hired Lewis Hamilton in 2013 like Bernie Ecclestone suggested you should?

It would have been fascinating to see how he would have performed against Sebastian that year but we ended up winning the championship quite dominantly. But it would have been interesting to see how those two would have shaped up against each other.

If the Renault power unit was as good as the Mercedes, do you think you can beat them chassis-wise?

It’s very difficult to answer because the car is a complete package. But the chassis side has improved very well this season. We had a great chassis last year, and the chassis was affected by the regulation changes we had over the winter around the front-wing and t-tray, but we have a pretty decent car now.

Is Red Bull’s stuttering season down to a loss of mechanical grip, aerodynamic inefficiencies or purely down to Renault Sport providing a hybrid engine down on power?

Predominantly it’s horsepower. There has been an element of the regulation changes affecting us around the front end of the car but we have managed to recoup that pretty well.

There has been a lot said in public between Red Bull and Renault over the course of this year, why was so much said publicly and not kept private between both parties?

Unfortunately what people forget is that we have been together for seven or eight years and sometimes in competitive sport, when promises have been made, frustration boils over.

Will Red Bull Racing eventually design and build their own engines?

No!

What’s the plan for next season, and are you looking forward to the 2017 rule changes

2017 is 2017 and quite a long way away. It’s important to get the chassis regulations right in the near future — and progress is being made — and hopefully the difference between the various engine manufacturers will concertina.

Horsepower has been the biggest issue for Red Bull.

And who will your engine partners be in 2017?

We don’t have any agreement with anyone yet for 2017 so time will tell.

If your roles were reversed and you were Toto Wolff, would you supply Red Bull with engines?

I’d give us an engine for free.

How strong is the contract for Daniel Ricciardo to stop him following Seb to Ferrari when Kimi leaves?

The contracts with all of our drivers are confidential but they are all pretty clear.

Would you be in favour of simplifying the aero packages on the front and rear of the cars to allow for closer running/following?

I’m not so sure it would have that impact — if you look at GP2, they struggle to follow each other and that’s particularly the case in GP3. The bigger issue is mechanical grip and we see that when there is higher amounts of degradation in a race it tends to create more varied and more interesting races.

How do you balance what’s good for F1, and not just Red Bull Racing, with rules and regulations?

My priority, obviously, is Red Bull Racing. That is what I am employed to do. But of course an unsuccessful F1 would ultimately hurt Red Bull Racing so you do have to take a bigger viewpoint.

If you could change one thing in F1 to make the sport more entertaining, what would it be?

I would significantly increase the grip of the cars.