Formula 1 News: Horner worried about poached Red Bull engineer

Christian Horner is worried their former chief designer, Rob Marshall, will make the McLaren team into their biggest rival.

Like Horner, Marshall worked for the team for 17 years. But, last year, he was poached away by the McLaren team.

Rob Marshall, the Chief Engineering Officer of Red Bull Racing talks with Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner in the garage during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

He officially started his new job in Woking as the McLaren’s technical director of engineering and design January 1st.

“I think McLaren had a great second half of the year,” the Red Bull chief told Sky Sports. “There were times when they were our closest competitor. They have strengthened their team and Rob will be an asset, but it’s not just about one person.

“There are seven or eight hundred people in an F1 team and it needs the whole team to come together. With Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri] – who was really impressive as a debutant – they could well be a factor next year,” said Horner.

“I’m fully expecting – with stable regs and diminishing returns for us because I think we got to the top of the curve quicker than others – the field is going to converge. There’s always a reset as you go into the following year, and I’m convinced that you’ll see a lot more cars that perhaps look like an RB19 philosophy.

“If you stand still in this business, you tend to be going backwards. And I think that we have got up that curve quicker than others. But we’re into a law of diminishing returns.”