Woolf vs Horner in 2019

[Nitrodaze]

Toto Woolf and Christian Horner are both two of the most successful team bosses in F1 today. The only other person to achieve such success in living memory, is the FIA president Jean Todt who steered Ferrari and Michael Schumacher to five double world championships. And Sir Frank Williams of course. Woolf and Horner combined have won nine of the last 10 seasons driver and constructors world championship titles. With Woolf winning seven to Horner's four.

Since the Mercedes emergence as the team to beat in F1, Horner and Redbull have had an eight-year drought. Redbull has ever since done its ought most to stay within the top three teams. Redbull has taken its drought well showing the character of why they were multiple world champion. At least better than other teams that have tasted similar levels of success, like Williams and Mclaren.

The 2019 regulations imposed a new chassis architecture on the teams and presents us with a potential opportunity to see these two stars of F1 team management go head to head properly. If we make a rough analysis of the Mercedes and the Redbull cars, one may say the Redbull car has a superior chassis to Mercedes but the Mercedes has a superior power unit. You would be mistaken, if you think the Mercedes chassis was poor, on the contrary.

But this rough analysis would suggest that Redbull are favourites to put together the leading chassis of the 2019 season. But that is one component of the perfect package; they need a powerful engine and a very fast driver. They have Vertstapenn that is proving to have championship-winning calibre. The question mark is the engine. The Honda engine propelled Gasly to 4th at Baku with its long straights where engine power was a requisite to finish in the top six. This was an eye-opener that suggests that the Honda engine may pack enough punch to propel Redbull to another world championship title.

If this hypothesis is correct, we are in for a real treat in 2019 as we get to watch these two go head to head for the first time in potentially equally competitive cars or at least closely competitive cars. We have watched Woolf take on Arrivabene of Ferrari and won both duels in a TKO. How would the head to head between two of the most successful team bosses in F1 today turnout?

The two men are so different.
Woolf is a well-considered and eloquent speaker. He likes to take a back seat from race operations at his specially constructed observation post in the garage. Leaving the pitwall to the engineers and race strategists etc .

Horner is a fellow that does not mince words, he tells it like it is. You can like what he has to say or lump it. He likes to sit in the thick of the action and be actively involved in the decision-making process etc.

Both men are viciously competitive, though Woolf is very diplomatic about his competitiveness. Both have the mentality of a winner, hence losing is a bitter pill to take. Both are resolutely confident they can beat the other. Though Horner has suffered defeat from Woolf the last five years due to under-powered Renault engines.

Horner with two of the most exciting young drivers on the grid takes on Woolf with a seven times driver world champion and a very fast and experienced teammate in Bottas. This has all the hallmark of a cracking season; Hamilton vs Verstapenn yeah!