
It was on the morning of the glitzy season launch at London’s O2 Arena in February when Formula 1 lost its collective head. There, it’s said, during an F1 Commission meeting, Christian Horner – Red Bull’s then team principal – set his smartphone in the middle of the table.
“Bring back V10s” hissed the voice at the other end of the line: former F1 ‘ringmaster’ Bernie Ecclestone. And, lo, the herd began its charge in that direction, only to crash upon the indifference of F1’s engine manufacturers during a crunch meeting ahead of the Bahrain GP.