Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has landed himself a tour of the Mercedes F1 factory after he cheekily bid on the item in Sunday's Autosport Awards Charity Auction. As the bids rolled in, Horner opted to get involved and ultimately came out on top – his offer of £4,000 beating the competition. Proceeds from the auction went to the Grand Prix Trust, which has provided help and advice to F1's trackside and factory-based team personnel for more than three decades. Speaking in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.com , Horner joked that he wants to take "about 20" people with him for the tour. "Adrian [Newey, Chief Technical Officer], myself, Pierre Waché [Technical Director] and probably Paul Field, our Director of Production," he smiled, off the back of a hard-fought 2021 title battle with Mercedes. Horner then quipped that "it'll be interesting to go and see how they're spending their budget cap", before underlining that his successful bid was all for a "great cause".
It's not the first time Horner has visited a rival F1 factory
It would not be the first time that Horner sets foot in a rival team's factory, however, having visited McLaren's headquarters back in 2008 with David Coulthard and Newey – who both had spells at McLaren and Red Bull in F1. "DC invited us and [then McLaren team boss] Martin Whitmarsh was there," Horner recalled. "I went with Adrian; he obviously knew his way around and everywhere he wanted to go we weren't allowed! "I think we saw the marketing and electronics departments, and had a very nice lunch, and that was about it!"
Most read
