Susie Wolff reveals the ‘pivotal’ role Christian Horner played in her career after retiring from racing

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After retiring from her career as a racing driver in 2015, Susie Wolff has taken up a number of leadership roles within the world of motorsports and has disclosed how ‘pivotal’ Christian Horner was in getting one of her later ventures off the ground.

The Scot became the first female to take part in a Grand Prix weekend since 1992 when she took the reins of Valtteri Bottas’ Williams F1 car during FP1 of the 2014 British Grand Prix.

After taking part in a total of four official practice sessions on race weekends across the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Wolff announced that she would be retiring her overalls in favour of helping other women in the sport to realise their dreams of becoming a world-class racing driver.

A four-year stint as the team principal of the Venturi Racing Formula E outfit came next, before she was appointed as the managing director of the newly formed all-female single-seater racing series in 2023, F1 Academy.

READ MORE: Susie Wolff shares what she thinks Lewis Hamilton doesn’t get ‘enough credit for’ in Formula 1

Susie Wolff reveals the ‘pivotal’ role that Christian Horner played in the development of F1 Academy

The category was formed after its predecessor, W Series, entered administration during the preceding year. Having run for just three years, the series struggled financially, something that was resolved in the formation of F1 Academy due to its backing from F1.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, the 42-year-old was asked about the early days of the racing series, to which she detailed how important it was to get the backing of some of the bigger names on the F1 grid, namely Christian Horner and Red Bull.

“That was a pivotal moment, because for Christian to commit in that way was the moment I thought I can do this,” Wolff revealed.

“Having McLaren, Ferrari and then Red Bull, and then knowing if I had them eventually to say yes, that was the moment I thought, well, if I’ve got Christian on board, this is going to happen.

“I obviously knew people that Christian knew very well that were going to present the idea on my behalf, but I also definitely take people on the journey with me; I never try then force it through on my own.

“I’m also quite open to criticism. When I sat down with Fred Vasseur for the first time, he’s someone I respect a lot, and he knows a lot about junior formulas. He gives me a lot of feedback, even to this day, of what’s not working and what I need to do better.

“And I don’t shy away from that. I say to everyone, well, tell me what we can do better. I don’t have all the answers, but we want to make this a success.

“So, if you’ve got inputs for me, challenge me. Bring me what we need to do better, and I’ll most certainly try my best, and if I can’t, there’ll be a reason why I can’t.”

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Christian Horner has shared some intense battles with Toto Wolff in the past

The topic was of high interest to the presenter of the podcast, Jake Humphrey, who referred to the jagged relationship that Wolff’s husband, Toto Wolff, shared with Horner during the latter’s tenure at Red Bull.

As the chiefs of two of the most successful outfits in F1 in recent years, the pair clashed quite frequently.

A boiling point came during the 2021 F1 season, when the controversial way that the championship was decided took their relationship to a point of no return. Wolff was furious with how Horner reacted in the aftermath of what happened in Abu Dhabi.

The feeling was mutual, with Horner being angered by a documentary about Wolff being broadcast on a Red Bull-backed TV channel, Servus TV.

The then-Red Bull chief reportedly made a phone call afterwards to demand an explanation as to why a documentary about himself hadn’t been commissioned.

It has been speculated that Horner was jealous of Wolff’s position at Mercedes as a shareholder in the team he manages on a daily basis.

With the 51-year-old now off the grid, it is understood that this is one of his demands to any team that intends to secure his services once his period of gardening leave expires next summer.