“His preparation, as a role model of how to approach not just Formula
One but any sport, is exemplary,” Horner says. “He gives 101 per
cent all of the time to his chosen profession. He has made sacrifices. He is
unwaveringly focused on what he wants to accomplish.”
Vettel is not the robotic Teuton that Michael Schumacher could occasionally be
depicted as, combining his training fetish for throwing himself down ice
holes in Finland with an unexpected liking for Monty Python sketches.
But the rest of his personal life remains a blank canvas. He has a long-term
girlfriend in fashion designer Hanna Prater and yet, contrary to Lewis
Hamilton’s high-profile relationship with pop star Nicole
Scherzinger, the pair are seldom pictured together.
“Sebastian lives as normal a life as he can,” Horner says. “His girlfriend has
been with him since his schooldays, and he likes living in the countryside.
He enjoys the simpler things in life. He is a fun person to be around, with
a great sense of humour – he appreciates banter in the garage.
“But his belief is that the team do not pay him to be a superstar.
Therefore, not having distractions is the best way of him delivering.”
In Horner, Vettel has found the perfect backer. Besides one rare bout of
flamboyance when he leapt into a Monaco swimming pool in a Superman cape,
this urbane son of Leamington Spa has triumphed where Japanese juggernauts
Honda and Toyota conspicuously failed, building a team capable of winning
multiple championships from scratch.
Indeed, Horner embodies such a profound knowledge of F1’s labyrinthine
politics that Red Bull’s recent record is traceable as much to his hand as
that of Adrian Newey, the revolutionary technical director earning in excess
of £10 million a year.
Soon Horner will need to replace Mark Webber, as the 36-year-old Australian
enters the autumn of his career, and it is little surprise to learn that he
regards Hamilton as too mercurial to be considered as a potential
replacement.
“Lewis is a fantastically quick driver and he has expressed interest in
driving for the team in the past. But it wouldn’t have been right for the
team. I have great admiration for the talent he has but I don’t think Lewis
and Sebastian would be the right combination.”
Appreciation for Red Bull from rival teams can still be at best grudging, as
Horner acknowledges.
“We don’t have the heritage of Ferrari,
McLaren
or even Mercedes.
It probably sits uneasy with those guys for a young upstart team to come in
with a young driver and achieve what we have. Somebody said to me that the
best way to become unpopular is to win consistently.”
The execution of the Red Bull master plan, with Horner at the helm and Vettel
wearing the visor, is not about to relent any time soon. “You push
boundaries,” Horner says.
“That is what winning is all about. We will continue to push, because the
moment you stand still you are going backwards.”