Imagine a tennis player fainting during a match as a consequence of drug abuse. Who would that harm? In most cases, it’ll just affect the player’s health and no one else. Imagine a Formula 1 driver—or a racing driver in general—fainting in the middle of a race. If you can picture it, you’ll know the consequences could be far more severe. Not only will that put the driver’s life at risk but also everyone else with them on track. You can see why doping or drug abuse isn’t prevalent in motorsport. Even so, it’s not like narcotics cases have never happened. In fact, Christian Horner divulged the ins and outs of the first-ever drug case in the motorsport industry.

The motorsport industry is dangerous as it is. Adding a layer of performance-enhancing drugs could make it even more so. Surprisingly, though, the case Horner talked about has nothing to do with performance enhancement and everything to do with the necessity to compete.

A first championship and a first drug test came together for Christian Horner

Before the Red Bull Team Principal made his way into F1, he was a racing driver himself. After competing in the British Formula Renault Championship and British F2, he made the step up to Formula 3000. Apart from racing himself, he set up his own team, Arden. But as a 25-year-old, he figured racing cars wasn’t for him. Instead, managing teams was what he was made for. As an up-and-coming team, he knew he needed good results to put Arden on the map. That’s the baseline for the drug case Horner opened up about.

On the Eff Won Podcast with Dax Shepard, Horner explained, “I won [the F3000 championship] three years in a row (2002, 2003, 2004). We weren’t [the most well-funded team]. In 2002, we were properly on the limit. But I thought I’ve got to put a driver capable of winning it. I took this driver out of Formula 1, a Czech guy [Tomáš Enge]. He won the championship that year. And then he got excluded for being a 1000% over the legal drug limit. On marijuana. It was the first-ever drugs case in motorsport.” Considering it was a recreational drug and Enge still won the championship, Shepard exclaimed that he should’ve been applauded.

“I spoke to his manager,” continued Horner. “I said, ‘Look, we’ve got a bit of a problem. He’s tested positive for a drugs test.’ His manager said, ‘He must’ve inhaled it. He’s been in a club.’ He made three of his employees sit in a room while three others blew smoke at them, and they go and get tested. This was part of his defense. Other than having sore eyes, they didn’t even register.” So what really was the case with Enge?  

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Horner revealed, “It turned out the guy had been taking a medication for some back spasms from a big crash that he had in Japan. He had a Czech trainer that was just giving him these pills. He’d been on it for years, and he won the championship.” Although Horner hasn’t had to deal with another drug case since then, one of his present drivers innocently brought up the drug topic.

Sergio Perez left Red Bull in splits at the Dutch GP

When F1 returned after the summer break, it headed to the Dutch GP—Max Verstappen’s home. And what is one thing about the Netherlands that almost everyone loves? Stroopwafels. The caramel-filled waffle sandwich is a Dutch delicacy, one that McLaren’s Lando Norris goes crazy about. What better way to celebrate the traditions of the Netherlands than to get drivers to make their own Stroopwafels? That’s precisely what Red Bull did.

In the video posted on Red Bull’s YouTube channel, Sergio Perez and Verstappen take turns to make Stroopwafels. When one baked, the other asked questions. As Perez tried to not burn his hands and his Stroopwafel, Verstappen asked, “Which flower is often associated with the Netherlands and is the country’s national flower?” The answer was Tulip. But Perez didn’t know that. What did he say instead? “W**d,.” aka, marijuana, the medical drug that got Christian Horner’s driver disqualified from the 2002 championship.

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 What did you think about the first narcotics case in the motorsport industry?