Christian Horner reveals secret battle with panic attacks during time in F1

In a recent interview, Christian Horner has revealed that towards the end of his tenure with Red Bull Racing, he had begun suffering from panic attacks.

On the surface, Horner always gave off a calm and calculated presence on Red Bull’s pit wall during his 21 seasons with the Milton Keynes-based team.

However, behind the scenes, the 52-year-old has admitted that he was experiencing health events that he had put down as fatigue or ‘too much coffee’.

After being checked by my medical personnel, Horner discovered that he had been suffering from anxiety, which was resulting in panic attacks.

"I didn't know what it was," Horner stated in an interview with The Guardian.

"You suddenly feel dizzy and conscious of your breathing, and you think there's something strange going on. I put it down to having had too much coffee on an oppressive, muggy, thundery day.

"Then it happened again. I got checked out, and there was nothing physically the matter. They said, 'We think you have anxiety. Your breathing's very shallow.'

“It was my body telling me you're pushing pretty hard here. I'm able to recognise the symptoms now and let it go, and breathe."

In the same interview, Horner went on to discuss his admiration for his long-time rival, Toto Wolff, who had previously openly discussed his history with clinical depression.

Horner said, "Toto was very brave to talk openly about such a factor for people our age. I hadn't experienced those issues, but I had an appreciation during this period of how people could."

"The identity of many middle-aged guys is through their work. Suddenly, you have that stripped and taken from you.

“Who are you? What are you? What is your purpose? You either curl up into a ball or brush yourself down and get up."

Horner is currently still on the sidelines after being dismissed from Red Bull, and has recently denied a rumour suggesting he would return to the sport with Ferrari.