Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Red Bull boss Christian Horner never leave an opportunity to get back at each other. It can be anything, but the two bosses generally raise the temperature between the arch-rivals. Especially the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix took the rivalry to another level. It was a fierce competition between Lewis Hamilton, who was back then the reigning champion, and the Dutch Max Verstappen was the number one challenger.
Apparently, when team Red Bull had to pay the penalty for breaching the cost cap in 2021, Toto Wolff did not hesitate to call the rivals up. At the time, Wolff said, “It is a shame for the energy drink conglomerate. Horner’s team is spoiling the reputation of the company whose product is so good.” Christian Horner and Toto Wolff also had an ugly fightback last year regarding the porpoising issue during the team bosses meeting. These verbal battles go on back and forth. And once again, Horner mocked the rival team and their new upgrades of the Mercedes W14.
Christian Horner Mocks Mercedes’ New Design
This year, Mercedes was losing precious time as they previously had plans to test new upgrades to W14 in Imola, Italy. But the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix made Mercedes try the enhancements in the very next GP. Later, the team displayed tremendous improvement at the Spanish Grand Prix with their first double-podium finish this year. Their new car is looking good, with new side pods and front and floor suspension. Although Lewis Hamilton only came as close as 24 seconds away to his arch-rival and the top driver of the time, Max Verstappen.
As a result, this significant improvement of the Mercedes car made the rival boss Christian Horner joke about them breaching the cost cap this time. According to him, Mercedes had introduced a B-Spec car, and it must have cost them a significant portion of their budget. Hence, the pressure is on the Brackley-based team to get better performance from the car. Otherwise, it will be a huge waste. Moreover, Horner raised a point that the outside looks of the car do not determine its performance. Instead, it depends on what is inside the car. Its underneath makes the difference.
History Of Mercedes-Red Bull Rivalry Goes Long Back
Since the days of Sebastian Vettel, the Austrian team has been looking for a driver who can get them to the summit again. But for more than seven years, it was the Mercedes F1 team that ruled. However, the 2021 season changed everything. Lewis Hamilton was on his way to winning the coveted eighth title. But in the end, Max beat Lewis narrowly to become the new world champion.
Red Bull did not win the constructor’s championship that year. But they won it in the last year. Since then, the Austrian team and Christian Horner have not looked back. On the other hand, the German team has been struggling with their W14 car since the start of the season. They were continuing with the previous year’s zero side pod concept, and it ruined the early phase of the year for Mercedes. They implemented new upgrades in Monaco even though it was not the ideal place to try testing new modifications because of its tough street circuit.
