Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner ends team tensions as rival reveals RARE visit

Christian Horner wearing sunglasses walking through the F1 paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

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Horner ends F1 team boss tensions as rival reveals RARE visit

The Red Bull boss shared a rare experience with a rival

Rhys Thomas

Wednesday 14 August 2024 19:57 Updated: 19:23

Flavio Briatore has cited a meeting with Christian Horner as an example of how one aspect of Formula 1 has changed over the decades.

Briatore made a surprise return to the sport as executive advisor at Alpine earlier this year.

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The Italian's time in F1 is marred by his involvement in the 2008 'Crashgate' controversy, for which he was initially banned indefinitely from the sport by the FIA, a punishment which was later overturned in French court.

The 74-year-old is now back at the Enstone-based outfit, and has shared how a meeting with Red Bull team principal Horner marked a change of pace in modern F1.

Flavio Briatore has made a shock F1 return with Alpine

Flavio Briatore previously left F1 following the 'Crashgate' saga

How has F1 changed over the decades?

Briatore has been involved in F1 since his days as commercial director of Benetton in the late 1980s.

A successful managing director and team principal, Briatore won championships with Michael Schumacher at Benetton and then with Fernando Alonso at Renault.

Despite his controversial nature, he is well-placed to comment on changes over the years in F1, and highlighted a key personal one after enjoying a coffee with Horner.

“We [Alpine] had the new motorhome at Spa,” Briatore explained on the Formula For Success podcast. “It’s called the Alpine motorhome, Alpine means the mountains, kind of like a chalet, done by Philippe Starck.

“Everybody was curious because it’s looking completely different inside. It’s like you are really there in Gstaad or you are in Courchevel or somewhere, so everyone was curious."

When Horner asked to see the new design, Briatore agreed and revealed the pair shared a coffee, where the Red Bull team principal admitted it was the first time in years he had seen another F1 team's motorhome.

Tensions between team principals are often high in modern F1

Briatore then revealed how he and most other team principals used to enjoy a close relationship.

“Excluding Ron Dennis [then-McLaren team boss], I’d never go to the motorhome of Ron Dennis – the team principals had a super relationship. I remember we had the party at Maranello with Luca [di Montezemolo – Ferrari chairman]. We had lunch and it was much more friendly the situations between team managers and principals.

“Now, it’s completely different... But I believe it was more human, I don’t know, much more human respect and what the people are looking at now is only technical, only business, only this and that.

“I believe we can come back to this friendly situation, Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] is doing the best because Stefano tries all the time to organise dinner and meetings with the people, but the feeling is different.

“We had a joke, we spent time together – holiday, [or] no holiday. Now I believe it’s completely different. I don’t know if it’s better or worse, but it is different.”

Whether F1's team bosses can return to such friendly times seems doubtful. Tensions at the team principal meetings seem to run high and such figures are often in the headlines for futile wars of words.