“He is a financial guy and I grew up in the industry” – Red Bull boss Christian Horner also reveals when the rivalry with Mercedes heated up this season.
Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are not the best of friends in the paddock. Their relationship has soured after numerous clashes between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen this season.
The clashes on the track have also resulted in a fiery verbal duel outside the track between Red Bull and Mercedes. On asked when did this all start, Horner points to the crash which could have become so much more for his driver Verstappen.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July when Max and Lewis crashed on the first lap.
“I don’t think many people realise the severity of a crash like that at over 200mph. It was brutal. Max impacted at 51G – it actually broke the seat of his car.
“He was momentarily knocked out and we couldn’t reach him on the team radio.
“Your immediate focus is on the health of your driver.
“Anybody in F1 knows Copse is a high-speed corner, one of the most dangerous in the sport. In that moment I realised what we were up against.”
Christian Horner vs Toto Wolff
Both Horner and Wolff have led from the front, shielding Verstappen and Hamilton as strongly as they can. But Horner asserts he doesn’t pay too much attention to what Wolff says, insisting Mercedes is under pressure they’ve never experienced in the turbo-hybrid era.
“I don’t pay much attention to the Toto situation, even if the media likes to build it up.
“The intensity of the competition is so fierce that one mistake could cost either team the title.
“This is also the first time Mercedes has been under this level of pressure in seven seasons – it will be interesting to see how they deal with that. Toto and I are not similar characters.
“He is a financial guy and I grew up in the industry. It doesn’t make one right or the other one wrong but we are very different people.
“We have a handful of races to go, varying circuits around the world, the situation is very exciting, even for the impartial F1 fan.”
