Christian Horner makes surprise pick for best-ever Red Bull line-up as Sebastian Vettel snubbed

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Christian Horner has been the team principal of Red Bull since they entered F1 in 2005. In that time, they’ve won seven drivers’ titles and six constructors’ championships.

They won their first race in 2009 through Sebastian Vettel, who had been promoted from Toro Rosso to partner Mark Webber. A year later, Vettel pipped Webber to kick-start a historic ‘quadruple double’.

Webber retired in 2013 and was succeeded by compatriot Daniel Ricciardo, while Vettel left to join Ferrari ahead of the 2015 season. His replacement Daniil Kvyat would last just 17 months.

Kvyat’s demotion back to Toro Rosso cleared the way for Max Verstappen, who has held the seat since early 2016. He formed a mighty partnership with Ricciardo, allowing the team to pick up occasional victories during Mercedes’ period of dominance.

Since Ricciardo made the surprise decision to leave for Renault at the end of 2018, Red Bull have struggled to find an adequate number two to Verstappen. They dropped Pierre Gasly mid-season and abandoned Alex Albon after a year and a half.

Sergio Perez has held the unenviable gig since the start of 2021 but has been plagued by inconsistency. Still, Verstappen has won three championships during their partnership, while Red Bull have landed back-to-back constructors’ titles.

Christian Horner names Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as best Red Bull line-up

Horner believes that the Verstappen-Perez duo is the best Red Bull have ever fielded. During the Dutchman’s period of dominance, his teammate has won five Grands Prix, taken three pole positions and stood on the podium 29 times, but that respectable stat line only paints a partial picture.

The team principal’s comments, made in 2023, have only just come to light. And they’re ageing increasingly poorly.

This year, Perez’s dismal run of form has given McLaren a chance to dethrone Red Bull. The gap stands at just 42 points ahead of the final 10 races.

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At the current rate, they will comfortably take the lead before the season is out. Red Bull stand to lose nearly £8m if McLaren beat them, while employees will also miss out on bonuses.

Speaking on the Disney+ documentary ‘Checo Perez: Never Give Up’, Horner said of his current duo: “It’s probably the strongest pairing we’ve ever had in Red Bull Racing.”

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The combination of Verstappen and Ricciardo was elite, but they were unfortunate that Mercedes were too strong. The track record of Vettel and Webber is therefore far superior on paper.

Verstappen is building a case to be considered the greatest of all time, while Vettel is unquestionably one of the best drivers the sport has seen. Perez and Webber are closely matched too.

The former has now made 80 appearances for Red Bull, compared to 129 for the latter. That partly accounts for Webber’s advantage in victories, poles and podiums, but it’s also worth noting he spent his first two years with an uncompetitive car.

Red Bull were largely comfortable with the number one and number two dynamic inside their team during the Vettel/Webber years. But tellingly, Perez remains at risk of losing his seat, with Will Buxton suggesting they could axe him after the triple-header that features his home race in Mexico.