Red Bull and Mercedes were two of the most dominant teams in F1 in the 2010s. Both of its team principals, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, rose to fame at that time, and each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner, however, revealed that Horner came with more ‘drama’.
On The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner was asked who was more ‘annoying’ between Horner and Wolff. The Italian-American replied, “I would say Christian because he came up with too much drama.”
Steiner added that dealing with Wolff was much more direct. When Mercedes won, Wolff understood it was because his team was the best.
Toto Wolff believes his Red Bull Formula 1 rival Christian Horner is just “stirring sh*t up” by name checking George Russell as a future Red Bull option.
Horner told Sky Sports. “Look, we’re not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next… pic.twitter.com/VD2sJmP0hl
— F1_MercHub (@F1MercHub) September 23, 2024
Steiner became boss of Haas in 2016, which was the team’s first year in the sport. So, he did not directly deal with Horner during Red Bull’s first era of dominance, which was between 2010 and 2013. Instead, he had to stand with the rest of the Team Principals and watch Wolff’s team Mercedes win eight Constructors’ titles in a row.
In 2022, however, Red Bull embarked on another dominant spell, and this time, Steiner witnessed Horner’s ‘drama’ firsthand. Mercedes, meanwhile, fell into a slump in this period.
Horner and Wolff’s bitter rivalry
During Red Bull and Mercedes’ dominant periods, Horner and Wolff [respectively] had to live in each others’ shadows. The only time their teams truly competed for the World Championship in the same year was in 2021 when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went toe to toe for the title.
Verstappen edged past Hamilton in the season finale to win the Drivers’ Championship, but Mercedes prevailed over Red Bull in the Constructors’. It was a season full of heated battles, both on track and off it [verbally].
Wolff and Horner took fierce digs at one another, accusing each other of dirty play, and trying to pull each other down. But as both teams went in different directions in the performance index next season onwards, their rivalry toned down.
