Christian Horner will replace Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull programme at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Red Bull Racing team principal revealed in an interview with Reuters.
In preparation for this, Horner, who has not driven a racing car for years, drove a few laps at Silverstone last Thursday in the RB8 that Vettel drove in the 2012 World Championship.
“It was fun! It was my first time in a Red Bull car and certainly my first time in a car with a manual clutch and two pedals,” said Horner at Goodwood, where he will drive the 2011 RB7 this weekend.
According to the Milton Keynes team manager, the last time he drove a Formula 1 car was in 1993, and it was a Lotus, which was later acquired for his collection by Lawrence Stroll, now the owner of Aston Martin F1.
“Sebastian Vettel was supposed to drive one of our cars at Goodwood, but he’s on holiday with his family so he couldn’t make it to Goodwood,” Horner continued. “So our guys suggested: why don’t I get behind the wheel myself?”
I haven’t driven a single-seater since 1998, and I haven’t driven a Formula 1 car since 1993. So I thought it would be possible to drive a car with a manual clutch and brake pedal on the left side at Silverstone.
I consider it a great honour and privilege to be driving one of these incredible world championship winning cars. So during the weekend at Goodwood I will be replacing Sebastian. It is hard to imagine how fast these cars are and how efficient their aerodynamics are. What surprised me the most was that when I just took my foot off the accelerator, it felt like someone had dropped an anchor! The feeling is the same as when you brake hard in a normal road car. And when you hit the brakes, it is generally difficult to keep your head in such a way that your chin is not resting on your chest.
I enjoyed the experience so much that I even missed the pit lane and did an extra lap!”
Christian Horner once dreamed of becoming a racing driver and reached the level of Formula 3000, but over time he realized that he was not talented enough and started another business in which he really succeeded.
At Goodwood, the Red Bull Racing team will also be represented by its main team drivers: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
