Joining Red Bull for their inaugural Formula 1 season in 2005, Christian Horner has worked with many top drivers in the sport.
Celebrating his 400th Grand Prix at the Emilia Romagna GP last weekend, Horner has had immense success in Milton Keynes. The 51-year-old has guided Red Bull to eight drivers’ championships with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, as well as seven constructors’ titles.
With 124 wins, the team are one of the most successful outfits in modern F1 history, housing top talents such as champions Vettel and Verstappen, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo.
| Driver | Wins | From pole |
|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | 65 | 33 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 38 | 26 |
| Mark Webber | 9 | 4 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 7 | 1 |
| Sergio Perez | 5 | 1 |
However, Horner and Red Bull have also been notorious for dropping drivers abruptly, without giving more time to improve. Since 2019, the likes of Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Ricciardo, and recently, Liam Lawson have all lost seats within the team’s setup mid-season.
Lawson has the shortest Red Bull career in history after he was dropped after two races. Horner felt Lawson was in a ‘spiral’ after failing to reach Q2 in Melbourne and Shanghai; it is the most brutal example of how the team principal can work with his drivers.
Another F1 star who suffered a similar fate was Daniil Kvyat, but Horner always held a place for the Russian in his memory.
Christian Horner regards Daniil Kvyat as ‘one of my favourite drivers’ to work with at Red Bull
Kvyat joined F1 in 2014 with Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso. Like Verstappen, he skipped GP2 – or F2 as it is known today – straight to the pinnacle of motorsport after winning the GP3 title in 2013.
Finishing 15th in his debut season, the Russian was promoted to Red Bull in 2015 after Vettel left for Ferrari, despite teammate Jean-Eric Vergne beating him by 14 points. Kvyat beat Ricciardo as his teammate, but the team were uncompetitive as they struggled to transition to turbo hybrids.
The 31-year-old scored two podiums for the team before he was suddenly dropped four races into 2016. Kvyat made way for Verstappen as he was demoted back to Toro Rosso, before losing his F1 seat in 2017.
Kvyat appeared on the F1 Nation podcast to discuss the Emilia Romagna GP, where Verstappen claimed his second win of the 2025 season. Red Bull boss Horner interrupted the show to share his memories with the Russian.
He said: “It’s great that you got the Torpedo! You know what, he was one of my favourite drivers. He was always very polite, very charming. He was about 12 when he started driving for us.”
Kvyat then said: “You forgot to say quick!” to which Horner replied: “He was very quick, he beat Carlos Sainz in F3, same team.”
READ MORE: Know all about Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth to wife
Daniil Kvyat never won a race in F1 in 110 Grand Prix starts
Kvyat is adamant he would have been an F1 champion if he had received more help from Red Bull. He struggled with the team’s machinery in the turbo hybrid era before losing his seat to Verstappen.
He could not recover his form at Toro Rosso as he was replaced by Brendan Hartley in 2018. After the New Zealander failed to impress, Kvyat returned to the Faenza team in 2019, having spent the previous year as Ferrari’s third driver.
| Daniil Kvyat F1 career stats | |
| Grand Prix | 110 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 1 |
| Podiums | 3 |
| Points | 202 |
The Russian scored his third and final F1 podium with Toro Rosso at the 2019 German Grand Prix, finishing third. Kvyat stayed in 2020 as the team rebranded to AlphaTauri. He scored just 32 points before leaving the team at the end of the year, being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.
Kvyat spent 2021 as Alpine’s reserve driver, before leaving F1 entirely at the end of the year. He has since competed in NASCAR, WEC and currently races for Lamborghini in IMSA.
