Every interview with Christian Horner opened the same way, according to Viaplay’s lead Formula 1 commentator. “Well, look…”
That phrase, Nelson Valkenburg said, was Horner’s trick for taking charge of the conversation. He used it to buy himself a few seconds, and then, instead of answering the question he had been asked, he answered the one he preferred.
Valkenburg laid out the pattern on the Nailing the Apex podcast with host Tim Hauraney while discussing Horner’s imminent UK book tour. Horner, he said, was “such a politician.”
The verdict was blunt.
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“He’s a very nice guy; I worked well with him, but super frustrating to interview. Every time you had something to put your teeth into, he would just fire it back at you with no answer.”
That is where Valkenburg’s metaphor came from. Horner, he said, was “the squash court of motorsport”, because everything you fired at him came back.
A five-date UK tour starts October 17
Horner’s memoir, Drive, is published by Transworld on October 22, 2026. He has lined up a five-date UK speaking tour from October 17 to 26 across York, Glasgow, Nottingham, Bath and London.
“It’s going to be an evening with. Talking about my career, the highs, the lows, the rivalries, and my journey in Formula 1,” Horner said when announcing the tour.
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That is a long way from the deflecting routine Valkenburg says he met in paddock interviews.
20 years at Red Bull, out since July 2025
Horner was removed from his role on July 9, 2025, ending a 20-year run that produced multiple world titles for Red Bull Racing. Laurent Mekies, previously team principal at the junior Racing Bulls outfit, took over.
The podcast episode in which Valkenburg made the remarks went live on October 15, 2026. Horner’s first UK date is in York on October 17.
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