The Red Bull team principal on what makes his successful team tick and his ambitions in a new regulatory era for F1

Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, had "man flu" this weekend and addressed the setback with mock self-pity. It was probably the nearest he had come to experiencing defeat since July, the last time his team were beaten in a Formula One race.

He was in his Milton Keynes office, making urgent preparations for Tuesday's launch of Red Bull's 2014 car in Jerez, and he wanted to know what was going on at McLaren amid reports that the Woking-based marque were about to announce the appointment of Eric Boullier as team principal, replacing Martin Whitmarsh.

Whitmarsh, an excellent No2 and a good man, has not been an effective team leader, and McLaren have been the very last people in F1 to realise the fact. A few weeks earlier, at Mercedes, the chubbily ominous figure of Ross Brawn, the most successful person in F1 for a decade and a half until the arrival of Red Bull's hegemony in 2010, had melted into retirement.

Did Horner, with eight drivers' and constructors' world championships in four years, have blood on his hands, I asked him. "That's an interesting start to an interview!" he said. "But I don't really know the circumstances at McLaren or Mercedes. My focus has always been very much on what we're doing at Red Bull. We can't control what others do. It's not our business."

But Horner is the outstanding team principal of the day and his astonishing and relentless success has hurt McLaren and Mercedes, and made Ferrari, the biggest player in the whole rowdy circus, look like a bunch of serial underachievers.

Horner has an affable demeanour but he is as heavily disguised as the Scarlet Pimpernel, for underneath there is an intensity of will and an almost forensic eye for detail that keeps his 500-strong workforce as well as himself fully motivated. During races, just watch his foot tapping away for two hours. It's nervous anticipation, as he considers the multitudinous mishaps that can strike his team – either that or too many cans of Red Bull.

But he and his partner, Beverley, had a daughter last year, adding to their already established family of chickens, ducks, dogs and miniature ponies in their Oxfordshire countryside home. He was also 40 two months ago. So will the most driven man in F1, who has already achieved so much, relax a little? His eyes tighten at the suggestion.

"I never struggle for motivation, that's for sure. Motivation is something that burns within. I think winning becomes addictive. It's the fear of failure that drives all of us at Red Bull. Formula One is such a competitive business that you can't afford to miss a beat.

"I'm still relatively young and there's still an awful lot I want to achieve. Adrian [Newey, his designer] is a huge inspiration. He's still as hungry and motivated as he's ever been, in his middle fifties, so I think the inner drive is something that exists within you or doesn't.

"I'm also fortunate enough to work with a very dedicated and talented group of engineers and designers and staff. My job is to ensure they're empowered and enabled to fulfil their potential.

"I don't see my role as telling everyone how to do their job. What's important is to make them feel empowered, that they feel comfortable in their surroundings and are very clear on their objectives and targets."

Last season, another team boss – who was perhaps a little jealous – told me: "Horner is just the chief executive at Red Bull. The team is run by others: Dietrich Mateschitz [owner], Helmut Marko [consultant], Adrian Newey and Sebastian Vettel."

But that was unfair. Newey, the designer with the most fertile mind in the sport, praises Horner for creating a winning culture from the ruins of the Jaguar team. Horner brought Newey and Vettel to Red Bull, put everything in place and has since kept everyone on top of their game for a sustained period.

Perhaps that's why Bernie Ecclestone nominated him as his possible successor at the very head of the sport. That won't happen. Dictators are not very good at choosing their replacements, as Manchester United supporters would ruefully confirm. Besides, Ecclestone's successor will come from outside and not from within the sport.

Horner, meanwhile, does not think too far ahead. "Long-term in F1 is about a month," he says. Before Tuesday's launch he sounds as optimistic as a wedding bell. But there are problems to overcome. Unusually, Red Bull have lost important members of their team. Mark Ellis, their chief designer for vehicle dynamics, and Giles Wood, their chief engineer for simulation/analysis, have both been poached by Mercedes.

Most importantly, their highly rated head of aerodynamics, Peter Prodromou, has signed for McLaren. "We've yet to decide what to do with Peter's job but we've got 12 months to think about that before he leaves," says Horner. "He's fully focused on the current car."

Then there is the radical change in the cars for 2014, with the move away from V8s, which will be replaced by new 1.6-litre turbo-charged engines, with greater emphasis on energy recovery systems. Red Bull got on very well with the old model.

"The car will be quite a bit different. Aesthetically, with the new regulations, some of the noses look a little big ugly. But I think what's going on under the covers will be the fascinating aspect. The energy recovery systems and the turbos and so on are absolute works of art.

"It will be sad to see the end of the V8s. It will be interesting to hear what the V6s sound like next week. I hope a significant part of the Formula One DNA has not been lost in the sound that is unique to Formula One. But I don't think it will be.

"Reliability will be an issue in the early races and a crucial factor in this year's world championship. It's very immature technology with these engines. The approach to a race will now be very different. It will be a very tactical event, how you use your limited fuel, what your strategy is, how you optimise your engine from the start to finish. It's going to be fascinating."

But Horner is unhappy with the timing of the change. "My biggest gripe is the cost burden of the regulations. It's a significant amount of money and it hasn't come at the best time. Teams are struggling commercially at the moment and the new, incredibly complex engine is a burden."

He also sees problems when he takes a wider look at his sport. "I think Formula One is in a difficult position. Teams can scarcely agree with what day of the week it is. That's why it wouldn't be right for them to be involved in running the sport. That's why we need strong leadership from Bernie, and for the FIA to protect the teams from themselves in many cases."

Five hours after our interview I pass the Red Bull factory once more. It is almost 7pm but Horner's car is still parked outside the reception area. Man flu, like Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, has been routed.