Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are two of the most successful F1 team principals of all time. Collectively, they have led Red Bull and Mercedes, respectively, to 13 constructors’ championship victories. Looking back on their time in F1, Horner labeled himself and Wolff as “relics” from the past and admitted that today’s team principals are nowhere near as iconic as the ones from the past.
Horner joined Red Bull in 2005 and became the youngest team principal in F1 history. It took him some time to establish Red Bull as a genuine contender, but they kickstarted a dominant era led by Sebastian Vettel in 2010, winning every single world championship until the 2013 season.
Toto Wolff, meanwhile, joined Mercedes in 2013. With the onset of the turb0-hybrid era in 2014, Mercedes began dominating the sport themselves. They won all the constructors’ championship titles between 2014 and 2021, after which the baton of dominance passed over to Red Bull once again.
Speaking to ESPN, Horner looks back on what he and Wolff achieved. However, when he spots the other team principals in F1, he can’t help but feel differently about them.
Christian Horner talks about previous team principals who had big personalities
Horner looked back on the time when he joined F1. There were different people in charge, and the figures present in the paddock were all huge names with big personalities. Nowadays, Horner feels like most people are just ‘managers’ and he doesn’t like how F1 is letting go of its sporting side.
“When I started, you still had Ron Dennis, Flavio Briatore, Eddie Jordan, and Jean Todt,” said Horner. Bernie Ecclestone was in charge, Max Mosley was at the head of the FIA, and Frank Williams was there too. These were all big names with their own personality. At the moment it is mainly managers who are there. Maybe it’s my age, but it feels like it’s all become more technical and business-like. ”
Five ⭐️ celebrations for a fifth constructors’ title 👑
Behind The Charge from the #USGP is out now 📺👇
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 28, 2022
Horner then went on to talk about himself and Toto Wolff, who is the current team principal of Mercedes. “Toto and I may be the only relics from the other time. I am a bit younger than the rest, but the definition of a team boss has changed from when I started. ”
Horner and Wolff have a rivalry that has been very widely publicized over the last few years. However, it does seem that they share a huge amount of mutual respect for one another.
Horner’s relationship with Toto Wolff
Horner and Wolff have always given their best for Red Bull and Mercedes respectively. This has led to the two of them engaging in several verbal battles to protect the interest of their teams. Their rivalry peaked during the 2021 world championship.
This was when their star drivers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went toe to toe for the title, and the on-track tussles transpired into off-track jibes aimed at each team principal. Regardless, they have both spoken highly of one another and commend each other’s contribution to Formula 1 as a whole.
