Horner invited 20 F1 drivers to barbecue at his house, “half the grid” turned up

Christian Horner has revealed that he invited the entire F1 grid to a barbecue at his house before Silverstone.
Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing
Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing

But, not everybody took up the Red Bull boss on his generous offer!

But, it gave Horner an interesting perspective into how Max Verstappen and Lando Norris chat about racing, just days before they duelled at the F1 British Grand Prix.

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“You could see he enjoyed racing with Lando,” Horner said after his star driver won Silverstone.

“There’s a good respect between the two of them. He’s a racer. He enjoys racing. 

“I had all the drivers for a barbecue at my house last night, and you could see, they go straight into talking about moments on-track. 

“Their eyes light up about what happened here or there, or even in Formula 3 or karting. You see his eyes light up.”

Did all 20 drivers attend, he was asked.

“No, no. About half the grid,” Horner answered.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall for the conversations!

Race winner Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British
Race winner Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium…

Red Bull have now won 11 grands prix in a row, the first time anybody has done that since 1988.

“It’s an incredible record,” Horner said. 

“McLaren 1988, with the McLaren-Honda, achieved those 11 victories with Senna and Prost. 

“To think that we’ve matched that, that’s testimony to the hard work of the team, of the commitment, of the drivers, of reliability, of strategy. It’s hard to win a grand prix. 

“Winning 11 in a row is, and I think we’ve won, I think something, you’d have to do the maths, but it must be close to 19 of the last 20 or 18 of the last 19. 

“It’s been a phenomenal run of success for us. I think it’s something, particularly here at Silverstone, our local circuit.

“The factory is only 15 miles up the road. We have so many employees living in the local area. To have achieved this result here is something the whole team can be immensely proud of.”

Verstappen is on course for a third F1 championship in a row.

But is he at risk of ever burning out?

“I don’t think burnout,” Horner said. 

“He’s a pretty laid back character, he enjoys his racing, he loves his racing. 

“But I don’t think he’ll be racing when he’s Brad Pitt’s age in Formula 1.”

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