Christian Horner would have liked to have Montoya and Kristensen at Red Bull

Christian Horner has been serving as the “Team Principal” since Red Bull’s arrival in Formula 1 in 2005, and has been overseeing the team based in Milton Keynes.

Since the late 2000s, Red Bull has chosen to predominantly race junior drivers from its own development program in its main team and at AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso). However, Christian Horner was asked about past drivers that he would have liked to see racing for the Austrian team.

“There are a few drivers that I would have liked to see over the years,” explained Horner on the podcast “Extraordinary Tales”. “I think Montoya didn’t live up to his potential in Formula 1. I believe he was a wonderfully talented driver who should have achieved more.” The Colombian driver raced in Formula 1 between 2001 and 2006, first for Williams and then for McLaren, with whom he won 7 Grand Prix.

Horner continues: « There is a driver that I tested in the Arden team and that I consider once again as a phenomenal driver who was missed in Formula 1. It is a certain Tom Kristensen, who later achieved tremendous success in endurance racing. » The Danish driver has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times between 1997 and 2013, a record. These performances still earn him the nickname “Mister Le Mans” to this day.

Christian Horner has worked with a multitude of Formula 1 drivers since taking over the team and has explained the common denominator he sees in the great champions he has been around, such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel: They all have their own personality, their own character traits, but with the good ones, there is this same ruthless determination that they all share, which I see in Max [and] that I saw in Sebastian long before. It’s that little extra bit, they are willing to go a little further.