Wolff sees a big difference at Red Bull after Horner: ‘No bull**it, no lies’

It was no secret that the complete opposites Toto Wolff and his then Red Bull Racing colleague Christian Horner had a strained relationship - to put it mildly. The two team principals regularly clashed verbally, both in front of and behind the cameras. For Formula 1 followers, it was often entertaining.

Especially during the thrilling 2021 title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, tensions between Wolff and Horner frequently ran high. After Verstappen’s heavy crash at Silverstone, for example, Horner came down hard on Hamilton. Wolff, in turn, felt that his British counterpart had gone “below the belt” with some of his accusations against the Mercedes driver.

Later that season, it became more personal. Horner felt that Wolff was too occupied with the media and said during a press conference that his rival should keep his mouth shut. Wolff hit back by calling Horner a “windbag” who, in his view, loved being in front of the cameras. In hindsight, the Austrian admitted he regretted those words, saying the rivalry had become too personal.

The clashes continued in 2022. During the porpoising debate, Mercedes wanted the FIA to intervene for driver safety, while Red Bull opposed sweeping changes to the technical regulations. During a team principals’ meeting in Canada, a heated exchange between Wolff and Horner erupted again. Later that year, the two teams were diametrically opposed over Red Bull’s breach of the budget cap.

Even when Mercedes no longer posed an immediate sporting threat to Red Bull, the personal jabs kept coming. Early in 2023, Wolff called Horner “obsessed” with him and claimed he lived rent-free in the Briton’s head. Horner had previously said it was particularly easy to get under Wolff’s skin. The two would never be friends, Horner later made clear.

After Horner was dismissed by Red Bull just over a year ago, the atmosphere between Mercedes and Max Verstappen’s team has visibly improved. During an exclusive media session with GPblog in Zandvoort, Wolff emphatically confirmed that relations have normalized with Horner’s successor, Laurent Mekies.