IN CONVERSATION WITH

In an exclusive interview with the Motorsport Network, Red Bull’s team principal spoke about the work going on behind the scenes to get F1 racing in 2020 and why customer cars are the solution for protecting smaller outfits in a POST-COVID-19 world

Red Bull’s Christian Horner

When the world returns to normal, or the new normal, after this crisis, what do you think will be different as far as motorsport is concerned? There’s an awful lot going on now to try and protect the future, and to make Formula 1 sustainable, to make sure we protect all the entrants. It’s difficult to imagine crowds of people are just going to rush back to venues.

I think there will be a natural nervousness to do that, and that doesn’t just affect F1. It’s going to be a gradual reintroduction. In times of hardship, you have to think differently, you have to think outside the box. F1 has had to do that during this period, and that, ultimately, will define its future.

There’s a huge logistical challenge to get races back on again: different countries, different procedures, different travel restrictions, but how important is it going to be to get going, even if it means no spectators for six or eight races?

Red Bull are committed to getting the championship off the ground. They’ve put in huge effort to get the race under way in Austria [provisionally scheduled for 5 July]. It’s a circuit owned by Red Bull, so it’s within their control, but they’re working with the local authorities and the government, of course, over screening and testing. The restrictions that are going to be in place are going to be pretty draconian, but if it allows the sport to start up again I think it will be a blueprint for other circuits to follow. When we do get going again it’s going to be a tight group of people, probably fewer than 80 within a team; they’re all going to have to stay in the same hotel, they’re all going to have to travel together, and not interface with other teams. There’s going to be some strict restrictions – I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of testing, a lot of screening, and we won’t be interacting with the local community. It’s not going to be a standard grand prix format by any shape or form.

Have you faith that teams are putting selfinterest to one side and thinking of the bigger picture, or do you still think that some of the arguments being thrown about [cost capping] are about gaining competitive advantage?

By and large the focus has been on the right things, in terms of focusing on the cost savings, trying to work with the promoters and the governing body to ensure that F1 survives, but I think inevitably there’s a bit of land-grabbing going on. The teams that have got bare cars with not many sponsors on them, they see it as an opportunity to reduce the competitiveness of the leading teams to bring them to their level. I can guarantee you, with what’s in the pipeline, it’ll be the same teams that are running at the front and it will be the same teams running at the back.

Do you think it’s a time for being bold? Will the F1 business structure be sustainable going forward? Now is the time to be bold. If I was running a smaller team, the fastest way to competitiveness at a cost-effective route would be, rather than trying to reverse engineer and copy your supplier team, which is happening in many cases, why not just sell them the whole car at the end of the [previous] year? Then they can operate as a race team – they don’t need all the research and development facilities. It’s the fastest route to competitiveness, and the cheapest. There’s this paranoia about being a constructor and what you’re giving up if you’re not a constructor. It works in other forms of motorsport, in Motogp. If you could buy a Mercedes, a Ferrari or a Red Bull after Abu Dhabi, why wouldn’t you?

Are you concerned manufacturers might follow Audi’s lead in DTM and pull out of F1?

Every manufacturer is hurting. I sat in on all the engine debates between the manufacturers and they conducted themselves incredibly well. They worked in the interests of the sport and the interests of reducing their costs significantly, probably to the tune of 50% of where their current spend is, by reducing enormous amount of dyno time, the development time they’re allowed, and the amount of upgrades allowed in a single year. There was a real collective, collaborative approach to that. Not once was a budget cap mentioned, because they just focused on the cost drivers. At the end of the day, every manufacturer is involved in Formula 1 to promote their product. So if Formula 1 is still attracting global audiences and is the right platform on which to promote their messaging, then if it’s at an affordable price those manufacturers will be there, and hopefully in time we’ll be able to attract more.

“WE’RE A RACE TEAM AND WE NEED A CHAMPIONSHIP TO RACE IN. IT’S UNIMAGINABLE NOT TO GO RACING THIS YEAR”

A big concern for governments is a second wave of the virus as the lockdown is eased. If there is no racing at all this year, what would be the financial impact on Red Bull?

Look, we’re a race team and we need a championship to race in. It’s unimaginable not to go racing this year. It would be enormously unlikely for no events to take place or for the world championship not to take place.

You can see it’s gathering momentum, trying to put scenarios in place to try and get going. I don’t think there will be a scenario where we won’t race at all this year.