Apr.2 (GMM) The Christian Horner scandal, and the wider Red Bull power struggle that is still playing out, will be covered in the next edition of the Formula 1 Netflix series Drive To Survive.
James Gay-Rees, the award-winning producer of many titles including the revolutionary but controversial F1 documentaries, says Horner blames him for the sort of intrigue that now threatens to totally derail Red Bull’s stability.
“That’s what Christian said to me,” he told the Telegraph newspaper. “‘This is all your fault’.
“But apparently Lewis losing the 2021 championship was all our fault too,” he smiled.
Gay-Rees admits that the Netflix audience has drastically changed F1 in the public eye.
“Liberty (Media) knew they needed to get younger people involved,” he said, “but I don’t think in their wildest dreams they thought 16-year-old girls in LA would be watching Formula 1 races.”
So for the next Drive To Survive, Gay-Rees said the Horner-Red Bull situation will need to be addressed – in part because the on-track action is being dominated by Max Verstappen’s current superiority.
“It’s problematic from a narrative point of view because it’s so one-sided,” he said.
As for the Horner situation, “It will have to be referenced in some capacity”, he admits.
“They will all want it to be told in a particular way, so it’s about treading that line to keep everybody happy, and to keep Netflix happy, and us – so we can sleep at night with the decisions we’ve made.”
In Melbourne recently, the Horner-Red Bull saga quietened down somewhat, in part because it’s rumoured Verstappen genuinely threatened to quit the team.
“I think Horner is looking ok for the time being,” said Gay-Rees, “but it doesn’t feel like it’s done yet. It will all depend on how it plays out.
“I don’t know what he got up to, and I genuinely don’t have an opinion on it – but he’s been through it and you wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”