Christian Horner revels in news Red Bull are DOMINATING rivals in F1 merch sales

Christian Horner

Horner revels in news Red Bull are DOMINATING rivals in F1 merch sales

We go behind the scenes in a great new documentary from the Milton Keynes team

Gary Gowers

Tuesday 18 April 2023 22:57

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Red Bull's decision to show 'A Week In The Life Of A Formula 1 Team Principal' revealed more than just a week in the life of their CEO and team principal, Christian Horner.

It also lifted the lid on just how successful the Red Bull juggernaut believes itself to be right now, and how they believe they are putting their rivals in the shade both on and off the track.

The video tracks Horner from his arrival in Melbourne for the F1 Grand Prix last month through to his detailed debrief with all of the Red Bull staff back in Milton Keynes the following week, and confirmed to those that didn’t already know what a slick and market-leading operation they have become.

Horner talks about the size of the operation now compared to when he entered the building in 2005: "If you look at the size of the business it's probably four times what it was when I arrived in 2005."

The video also includes a clip of a quarterly update meeting between Horner and an unnamed Red Bull finance guru, where they discuss the company's growth in sales, which in the first quarter of 2023 was 24 percent up on the equivalent quarter in 2022.

Red Bull merch usurps its rivals

The main driver in this big increase is merchandise, where it becomes clear that Red Bull's contract with Castore, which now has exclusivity over its official merchandising, has taken them ahead of their competitors.

In addition to big UK sales, their natural hunting grounds of the Benelux region and Mexico are also big players in Red Bull merchandising, and an ever-growing market for the team – as it is for all of F1 – is the USA.

Of interest to Horner was how Red Bull compares to its competitors, and so it was music to his ears when he was informed, without the revelation of the exact numbers, that they are in a 'much more favourable position'.

"So, winning on and off the track", was how the good news of the quarterly figures was spun to Horner, who clearly sees Red Bull's dominance over Ferrari and Mercedes on the track as only one part of the battle.

All of which adds to an ominous picture for the Milton Keynes-based team's rivals. The relentless drive to be the best on the track is clearly matched by a desire to also be the best off it.

Over to you Toto and Fred.