F1 News: Horner clarifies the Red Bull AlphaTauri relationship

Red Bull team F1 team boss Christian Horner explains that Daniel Ricciardo, and teammate Yuki Tsunoda, are both Red Bull drivers, but drive for AlphaTauri.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Speaking on the Sky F1 podcast, Horner said:

“He put some engineering direction into the team with the experience he had and that really benefited the AlphaTauri team.

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Scuderia AlphaTauri and Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri talk to the crowd on the fan stage prior to practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 28, 2023 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

“It’s great to see Daniel back in F1. It’s something that I was very keen to bring him back into the fold over the winter.

“When he came to us, you could see he was pretty much done with F1, he wasn’t enjoying it, but slowly that smile came back, that energy came back, and certainly the test in Silverstone for us was truly impressive.

“The work behind the scenes on the simulator as well. He deserved the chance in the AlphaTauri.

“He was unlucky to break his hand in Zandvoort but he drove very well this year.”

“They’re both Red Bull Racing drivers so they’re both there to be called upon should we need them.

“AlphaTauri is owned by the same shareholders as Red Bull Racing, but of course, the way they operate is independent to Red Bull Racing.

“They take benefit of the parts that are allowed to be transferred, like the gearbox or suspension. In the same way, Williams and Aston Martin have done so with Mercedes or Haas with Ferrari.

“They’re based in Italy, but they have new management coming in with Peter Bayer as CEO and Laurent Mekies as team principal.

“They’re competitive cars, and they want to compete to move the team forward.

“It has a new drive behind it. Essentially, they’re a customer of Red Bull Racing.”