'Drive' - a review of Christian Horner's long-awaited F1 memoir

If you are expecting Christian Horner's new F1 memoir Drive to be a drive-by shooting of those who decided to remove him from Red Bull, a settling of old scores, and a load of soapy waffle, painting himself as the martyr who was stunned as the sword was twisted in, then this is not the book for you. 

Given Horner's 20-year stint at the helm of one of F1's most successful teams and his status as one of the most successful team principals in history, his first book was always going to be an intriguing read. 

Throw in the manner of his sudden departure from Red Bull after being sacked in 2025, and all the ingredients are there for an unrivalled look at the politics which have dominated F1 over the last two decades, by a man usually responsible for lobbing a hand grenade or two into topics of the day. 

Again, those expecting Horner to air all the dirty linen of his Red Bull sacking are going to be mistaken. Yes, it is covered towards the end of the book, as is his initial reaction to allegations of improper behaviour levied against him in early 2024 - and which he has always strenuously denied, with investigations from leading KCs also not upholding the complaint - but it is not the central pillar of the book. 

Rather, it is how the wannabe F1 driver, who once bumped into Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna after sneaking into a Silverstone test, turned what Lewis Hamilton branded a "fizzy energy drink" team into one of the greatest grand prix teams of all time. 

Perhaps the most striking moment for your writer was something Horner mentions very early on after being handed the keys to Red Bull Racing by Dietrich Mateschitz in 2005. 

He tells of waiting in the car park at Milton Keynes and watching Tony Purnell and David Pitchforth leave for the last time, having been dismissed by Jaguar.

Fast forward 20-and-a-half-years, "not bad for a number two driver", Brazil 2012 and the lead-up to Multi-21, the horror of Renault's turbo hybrids, Abu Dhabi 2021, and the breach of the cost cap later, Horner describes sitting in his office for the final time, and seeing Helmut Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff waiting for him to "presumably exit the same way Tony and David" had.

It is a full-circle moment as Horner invites Marko in, with the veteran Austrian then "parroting" the company line of "it's about the can" when asked why the decision had been taken now.

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Christian Horner book review

Perhaps of all the figures in the book, it is Marko for whom you get the sense the knives were sharpened, but Horner doesn't go for the full all-out attack.

Sure, there are interesting tidbits, like how, in the early days of Adrian Newey joining, he expressed his disdain for how so much intellectual Red Bull information was leaked to the press by Marko, who treated information "as currency." This led to Horner claiming senior Red Bull figures were then "selective" about the information shared in meetings with Marko.

Horner expresses his doubt about Marko's driver decisions, especially saying he was "uncomfortable" with the choice to promote Liam Lawson in 2025, and provided insight into the racism row which erupted when Marko claimed Sergio Perez, from Mexico, in North America, did not have the same mindset as Europeans Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen "because he is South American."

Another character who you perhaps get the sense that there is plenty more to say about is Jos Verstappen, but Horner keeps his powder dry, with no love lost between the two. 

There are major revelations like how Horner wanted to sign Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz, only to be rebuffed at all times, and how in 2012, Niki Lauda offered him the job of Mercedes team principal - something Horner rejected and instead went to his great sparring partner, Toto Wolff.

The book does not skip over the key events of Horner's latter reign, including the decision to scrap the potential tie-up with Porsche - over which Marko threatened to sack Horner if he voiced his displeasure to the Thai majority owner, Chalerm Yoovidhya - and how Red Bull Powertrains was formed.

Overall, Drive is a solid retrospective on the F1 career of a figure who has been one of the most influential figures in grand prix history. 

The paddock is a sorer place without Horner, a man who knew how to press all the right buttons of his rivals, having been to the school of Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley, Ron Dennis, and Jean Todt. 

He recalls some of that in Drive, and it makes the book a great read for F1 fans, young or old. Just don't expect a copy to be heading to the Graz home of one H. Marko...

Drive by Christian Horner is published on October 22nd by Penguin.