Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels that Mercedes losing to an ‘energy drink’ manufacturer didn’t sit right with Toto Wolff.
The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021, will remain long in the minds of F1 fans. Despite the controversial ending falling in favor of the latter, the animosity between two lasted from the very get go.
Verstappen and Hamilton’s rivalry spilled over to their respective teams, with the Red Bull and Mercedes management having goes at each other all year long. In particular, their team bosses Horner and Wolff respectively, repeatedly traded verbal insults.
Whatever the outcome of the season would have been, it was evident that the losing side wouldn’t take it kindly. However, the manner in which Hamilton lost the Title in Abu Dhabi, added salt to the wound.
As Wolff said many times, the way in which Hamilton’s eighth Championship was taken away, was unfair. It led to massive post-race drama which ultimately led to Michael Masi’s sacking as race director.
Horner on the other hand does not agree with his Mercedes counterpart. The 48-year old insists that Mercedes were significantly more riled up, because of who they lost the Title to.
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Ever since the turbo-hybrid era started in 2014, Mercedes dominated the sport. All drivers to lift the Title between then and 2020 belonged to the Silver Arrows. As a result, many people got ‘bored’ of seeing them win, says Horner.
However, the fact that the Mercedes dominance got halted by a team like Red Bull, hurt Wolff more according to the Red Bull boss.
“They’re competitors and they’ve dominated the sport for so long,” he said to City AM. “We’ve been the first team that has stood up and beaten them. And you can see they don’t like being beaten. So that’s been rewarding in itself.”
“It energizes everyone in the team. We have huge respect for Lewis, for Mercedes. I’m sure it’ll be another competitive season. Hopefully less contentious, this one.”
“I’d rather we had a car that was half a second faster than the rest of the field and life would be a little easier,” the Brit continued.
“But it’s a competitive business. They’re massive opponents. And Red Bull Racing, as a subsidiary of an energy drinks manufacturer, it doesn’t sit very well taking on and beating manufacturers. So you can understand why perhaps that gets to them a little.”
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