The former Formula One boss revealed that watching his daughter Olivia cope with the death of her mother gave him the strength to carry on during a turbulent summer that also saw him leave Red Bull after two decades in charge.

Olivia's mother, Beverley Allen, died aged 58 following a battle with eye cancer, just days before Horner's shock departure from the Formula One team.

Speaking on Jake Humphrey's High Performance podcast, Horner described the moment he attended his daughter's school awards ceremony on the same day he received the devastating career news.

"I stood there and I watched this 11-year-old little girl go onto the stage.

"And I thought, you know what, if she's got the bravery to do that, then what I'm dealing with is nothing", he said to Jake Humphrey on the High Performance podcast.

The emotional moment, he said, changed his perspective during what he described as one of the 'darkest days of his life'.

He added: "That - on a day that my world had fallen apart - gave me the light to go, if she can stand up there and do that, then there's nothing that you can't do."

His comments come after a dramatic period which saw him leave his role at Red Bull, bringing an end to a hugely successful chapter, which saw him receive a £67million settlement.

During his 20-year spell in charge, Red Bull won multiple drivers' and constructors' championships and became one of Formula One's most successful teams.

However, the demands of Formula One meant he missed a number of family milestones, including his daughter's birth, birthdays and other important occasions.

He said: "It gave me the time to be with my family, to be with my daughter at a time that we were grieving a family member that I wouldn't have had if I was still on that hamster wheel of race to race."

Despite the setbacks, Horner, who lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and former Spice Girls star Geri Halliwell-Horner, said that he now enjoys spending that missed time with family.

He said: "You don't get that time back - and having the gift of time to have been able to spend with them, you know, I'm grateful for that.

"I'm grateful that I've had that opportunity at this juncture in my life."

Despite the setbacks, Horner said family life has helped keep him grounded, with his daughter's bravery serving as a reminder of what matters most.

Reflecting on the experience, he suggested that seeing the way young people can face adversity with courage and optimism had given him renewed perspective during an exceptionally difficult time.