"It's hugely flattering" - Christian Horner opens up on whether he would leave Red Bull someday

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that he was 'flattered' to be offered the post of team principal of Ferrari after Mattia Binotto's recent departure at the end of the 2022 season.

The Italian was fired by the Italian giants after he was unable to guide the team to a championship as his four-year tenure was filled with mistakes. Horner, who has been with Red Bull since the team's entry into F1 in 2005, revealed that he has no intention of leaving the reigning champions.

Speaking to AutoMotorUndSport, Horner said:

"I’ve been here since the very beginning. I feel very much you know responsible for the team. It’s a great group of people that I work with. And I think that I’ve never been tempted away. I feel a loyalty to Red Bull and of course the people here."

"When you’re working with such a great team, why would you want to be anywhere else? It's hugely flattering to be asked by Ferrari but they’re a great team and I’m sure they’re going to be very competitive."

"Sports should never be used as a political tool" - Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also weighed in on the FIA banning F1 drivers from making political statements. The Brit revealed that sports should be used as a political tool but also criticized the handling of the situation by the FIA.

At the team's livery launch in New York last week, he said (via Autosport):

“I think, first of all, sports should never be used as a political tool. And I think that sport, in many ways, is there to obviously entertain, but to also have an element of escapism within it. But certainly we at Red Bull have never constrained our drivers to not have the freedom of speech either, or the freedom of their opinions or the ability to speak their minds, because they do have a voice."

“I think it's a matter of finding a balance, and in the world that we live in today, everybody has a voice, and that shouldn't be suppressed. But of course, it does have to be done responsibly. So we don't want a load of robots that are without opinion going racing but like with all these things, there just has to be a sensible balance."

It will be interesting to see if any F1 drivers make any political statements during the 2023 season and how the FIA handles such situations.