Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has shared a fierce rivalry with Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff ever since Mercedes’ dominant era. Horner was desperate to dethrone Wolff’s team, and he did manage to accomplish that goal after the 2021 F1 season.
However, the beef hasn’t dissolved. Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are often seen taking cheap potshots at each other despite being in respectable positions. Moreover, Horner’s recent quip on Wolff over the poaching of Red Bull champion Max Verstappen forced F1 commentator David Croft into believing that greed for power is actually the core reason behind the animosity.
Croft Suspects ‘Control’ & ‘Power’ Being Key Factors In Christian Horner’s Jealously Over Toto Wolff!
In a recent showdown following Toto Wolff’s comments on the alleged poaching of Max Verstappen from Red Bull, team principal Christian Horner hit back at the Austrian. Wolff publicly accepted that Verstappen was on his radar for the soon-to-be-vacated seat of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. However, Horner was seemingly annoyed by the chatter and accused Toto Wolff of using Max as a smokescreen to hide his team’s shortcomings. He also added that with Red Bull being the epitome of success this year, it’s unreasonable for him to dump a championship-winning car. That being said, a verbal beef between Christian Horner and Toto Wolff is not unusual. The duo has had several instances of intense face-off in the past, including the infamous argument in a Netflix documentary.
However, David Croft, an F1 commentator, believes the root cause of the intense animosity between the two successful team principals is the greed for power and control. Croft added that the animosity between Horner and Wolff will continue to perpetuate as long as the duo remains in the sport. He explained that Horner has achieved at Red Bull everything that Wolff once did at Mercedes. However, the only aspect where the Brit feels he’s lagged behind is the power over the F1 team. Notably, Toto Wolff is a 33% stake owner of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, whereas Christian Horner is merely a CEO and team principal. Wolff’s power and control over his team are far more significant than those of Horner, who is at the mercy of the majority of Thai owners. Hence, Croft firmly believes that the lack of power over Red Bull will continue to wind up the Brit team principal.
Christian Horner Takes Brutal Dig At Mercedes Struggles!
In the latest shot at Toto Wolff’s Mercedes, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner rejected the prospect of Max Verstappen jumping ships to Mercedes, saying why Max would want to switch to a team that’s lagging behind their engine customers, i.e., McLaren and Aston Martin.
“His time would be better spent perhaps focusing on the team rather than the driver market,” Christian Horner said at the Chinese Grand Prix. Horner’s comments were in response to Toto Wolff’s suggestion that performance may not be the only factor fueling Max Verstappen’s decision to stay at Red Bull. If given a chance, Horner can convince the three-time champion to switch in the future.
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