Christian Horner makes SURPRISE choice in the historic F1 debate

Horner in persconferentie Miami — Photo: © LAT Images

Christian Horner

Horner makes SURPRISE choice in the historic F1 debate

The Red Bull team principal is pretty clear on who he prefers

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 20 August 2023 10:42

Christian Horner has weighed in on the age-old Senna or Prost debate, and his answer is...neither!

In 1988, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost set an unprecedented record of winning 11 races in a row for McLaren, a record that stood for 35 years until Horner's Red Bull team went one better at the Belgian Grand Prix last month.

Despite this gargantuan effort by arguably two of the best drivers ever to have graced Formula 1, Horner had a different favourite driver from that season.

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"I was in the camp of Nigel Mansell, our Nige," Horner told AutoHebdo.

"Nigel was handicapped that year by an uncompetitive car, unfortunately, but yes, it was something incredible. They both sparked. And two alpha males is always hard to deal with, so let's just say it was fun watching it from afar!"

Senna and Prost's rivalry lives long in the memory for F1 fans

Verstappen an all-time great?

The 1988 season was a lot more competitive than the current 2023 season, despite the fact that McLaren dominated.

Team-mates Senna and Prost traded race wins throughout the season in a heated rivalry, with Senna getting the better of Prost that season by three points in the world championship.

Fast forward to 2023, and Max Verstappen's supreme performances have been too much for his team-mate Sergio Perez, and Verstappen looks certain to claim his third consecutive world title.

"When it comes to drivers, it's hard to compare different generations, but Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost are both legends of the sport and I think Max is quickly joining that group."