Exclusive: Christian Horner hints at off-season plans before 2024 Red Bull title fight

Sam Cooper
Christian Horner with a headset on in the paddock.

Red Bull's Christian Horner wears a headset.

Christian Horner is happy to take some time and focus on their 2023 achievements before full focus switches to 2024.

A week after the Abu Dhabi finale, Horner was in London for the Autosport Awards and a chance to celebrate his team’s achievements.

With Max Verstappen winning International Driver of the Year, Horner also picked up an accolade with the John Bolster Award for technical excellence.

Christian Horner happy to be hunted in 2024 title fight

At the time of the ceremony in central London, it was just 80 days before the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain but Horner was happy to take some time to celebrate the past before thinking of the future.

“It’s always nice to reflect on being champions,” Horner exclusively told PlanetF1.com.

“We only finished last weekend so it’s a good chance to hopefully look back and celebrate what we achieved this year.”

Red Bull have walked to the two previous Constructors’ titles making them everyone’s team to beat but Horner was left unfazed by the targets on their backs, saying it was far more important to focus on themselves.

“Whether you’re a hunter or the hunted it’s just about focusing on yourself and keep trying to improve,” he said.

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“So it doesn’t matter who your opponents are. You’ve got to look after what you can control yourself.”

Later in the evening, Horner hinted he would be taking some time off before focusing on next season.

“It’s been quite a year,” he said during the ceremony. “And seeing the guys, the team standing up there – what they’ve achieved this year has been absolutely phenomenal. To win 21 out of 22 races with this car has been quite sensational.”

He was then asked if he was tired and said “Yeah, I’m f**ked.”

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