When Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff dropped an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard, the duo discussed the perceived benefits of a looming figure exuding confidence. However, the Austrian businessman cited his greatest rival to counter the Hollywood star’s hypothesis.
Shepard explained how he feels that being 6 feet+ and holding your own is a key to success in any of the fields, including team management in Formula 1. While Wolff agreed with Shepard to a certain extent, he pointed out Christian Horner’s time with Red Bull to highlight a flaw in the argument.
In all fairness, Wolff was trying to give Horner a compliment but he instead uttered, “I’ve seen pretty successful men who’ve been tiny,” to which Shepard called out Horner’s name. Wolff chuckled as he replied, “He’s a square man.”
Now, while Wolff was only poking fun at the Red Bull man, he was cautious at the same time to not cross the line. Given the duo’s tumultuous past, one can’t blame Wolff for not wanting to make further headlines.
Wolff takes it easy on Horner
Just recently, an incident between Max Verstappen and George Russell reopened closed wounds between the two team principals. Verstappen was unhappy about the one-place grid penalty he received due to Russell’s protests at the Qatar GP last year.
Verstappen said he lost all respect for Russell, claiming the Briton tried very hard to “scr*w” him by pressurizing the stewards to give him a penalty. On hearing the Dutchman’s claims, Russell hit back at him and referred to him as a bully.
Because of their drivers, both Wolff and Horner also got involved, leading the Austrian to call the Red Bull team principal a little terrier. Naturally, going forward, Wolff will be wary of not stirring the pot too much, given that his focus is on this season and the all-important regulations reset in 2026. Needless to say, Wolff wants to do his talking on the track.
