Christian Horner reveals 'biggest' Red Bull challenge: 'Scary as hell'

Christian Horner has described the creation of Red Bull Powertrains as the toughest task of his entire career at Red Bull, admitting the project felt "scary as hell" at its outset.

Red Bull set up its own engine division in February 2021, after Honda announced its withdrawal from Formula 1, choosing to build power units in-house at Milton Keynes rather than rely solely on an outside manufacturer. 

The project later saw Ford brought in as a technical and financial partner, focused on battery cell technology and electrical integration, after talks over a 50 percent Porsche buy-in collapsed.

Horner, who oversaw the formation of the new division, says there was no existing infrastructure, no legacy and no safety net when the project began.

Speaking to Autosport about the creation of Red Bull Powertrains, Horner said it ranked above anything else he had faced during his time in charge at Milton Keynes.

"It was arguably the biggest challenge I had in my time at Red Bull because it was from nothing. There was nothing there; it was a complete start-up," said Horner.

"And so, therefore, to see the milestones that engine was achieving in terms of producing and manufacturing was amazing.

"We built our own manufacturing facility, manufacturing pistons and machining cylinders, the solid blocks and all of this kind of stuff.

"It was amazing, the commitment that went into that project. It was scary as hell because we had no experience of building engines. But bringing in the right talent, backing them and giving those people the chance was crucial."

The facility Horner describes has since grown into a fully-fledged engine headquarters on the Red Bull campus, the Jochen Rindt Building, housing CNC machining, cylinder head assembly and dedicated dynamometer test cells.

Max Verstappen Malaysia victory a moment of 'tremendous pride'

That investment paid off in Malaysia, where Max Verstappen took victory with the new Red Bull power unit, a result Horner says carries particular weight given the scale of the challenge involved.

"The satisfaction of seeing that engine win in its 16th race, in its first year, is something I take great pride in, and I think there's tremendous pride in what those people have done and achieved," added Horner.

"Because I think it is, in many respects, easy to underestimate the challenges of taking an engine from scratch, particularly within the most complex set of engine regulations in the history of the sport, and beating teams and manufacturers with so much more experience."