The failed racer was ruthless, incredibly ambitious, often impatient and usually politically incorrect. When he took over Red Bull, tobacco title sponsorship was almost ubiquitous, grid girls were just as integral as mechanics and the idea of diversity in motor sport was largely laughed at.
It’s interesting that just as Horner became principal, perhaps the ultimate wheeler-dealer team boss, Eddie Jordan, had recently relinquished control of his eponymous team.
Before Jordan there had been other ‘mavericks’ who had done it their way – Tom Walkinshaw, who imposed his TWR philosophy on Arrows and Ken Tyrrell (whose team ran largely from a shed) were his two closest comparisons.
Ron Dennis was the corporate version at McLaren and, looking even further back, Colin Chapman did all the above but often designed the Lotus cars too.
These characters had the charisma and power to be everything to all teams. There were no CEOs or directors.
While the above-mentioned new breed are quietly competent, working away with little fuss to get the job done, with a pleasant PR sheen, their complete opposites had benefits too.
Phoenix, 1991: Eddie Jordan (right) makes his point with Roberto Moreno
Sutton Images
Chapman’s incredible zeal and driver brought an unprecedented level of technical innovation, and Jordan attracted a huge amount of sponsorship on the back of his electric personality.
Horner was and is a product of his time, and even in his final days as a Red Bull still came out with one-liners that always made him good for a quote.