Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has vowed to attend every Formula 1 race during 2024, comparing any potential absence to legendary ex-football manager Sir Alex Ferguson “missing a game”.
The 2024 F1 calendar is scheduled to feature a record 24 grands prix, two more than the equal-high of 22 events that have taken place across the previous two seasons.
Amid growing concerns over the welfare of the engineers who travel to races, Mercedes Technical Director James Allison revealed that discussions have been ongoing between F1 and the FIA regarding the potential implementation of a race cap for personnel.
However, Horner insists that he plans to continue being present at every grand prix, something he has done since being installed at the helm of Red Bull’s F1 squad in 2005.
“I see my role as a team principal and CEO. For 52 weeks a year, I am CEO of a high-performance technology business with Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Powertrains and Red Bull Advanced Technology,” he told Sky F1.
“If I’m not on the track, I’m at the factory from Monday to Friday.
“As a team manager, I attend all the races. I have attended every Grand Prix that Red Bull has competed in since 2005.”
Red Bull enters the upcoming campaign bidding to replicate the dominance that it achieved in 2023 when it took victory in 21 of the 22 races to seal both championships.
Ferguson delivered a similar scale of success during his extensive stint in charge of Manchester United, amassing 38 titles across 26 years managing the English club.
Horner, who has guided Red Bull to 13 titles in 19 years, believes the expectancy that a football manager attends every game should be applied to the role of an F1 team boss.
“People need to see the boss,” he continued. “Not attending one would be like Alex Ferguson not going to a football match.”
However, Horner has admitted the rare occasions where he gets to experience the normality of life at home provides a welcome respite from the intensity of the F1 season.
“Leaving home and leaving your family is always hard for anyone who travels a lot,” he added.
“2023 was a tough calendar, and 2024 seems even tougher, with more races. The most important moment is when you are at home with the family. You leave the phone on the sideboard. I have a young family and that time is very valuable. I try do things.
“If I can come back on a Sunday afternoon, for example. If I can take the kids to school on Monday morning, it’s a bit of normality.”
