Like him or leave him - and this writer readily admits to having done both over the years - there is absolutely no doubt that, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's team principal, deserves enormous respect for the eight titles (and half a century of grand prix victories) the 41-year-old has delivered on behalf of the lifestyle drinks company and its enigmatic Austrian owner, Dietrich Mateschitz.
Horner epitomises the new wave of team bosses who do not actually own a team as the likes of Colin Chapman (Lotus), Ken Tyrrell and Enzo Ferrari did, but manage Formula 1 operations on behalf of owners with bigger commercial fish to fry.
What sets him apart, though, is that he rapidly aligned himself with F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone despite being half his age - a political masterstroke which wrong-footed even Ferrari.