Christian Horner admits real truth about Toto Wolff F1 rivalry

Christian Horner

Christian Horner admits real truth about Toto Wolff F1 rivalry

Christian Horner and Toto Wolff were arch rivals in F1

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 1 February 2026 19:44

Axed Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has opened up about his rivalry with arch nemesis Toto Wolff.

Wolff and Horner were long-time team principal rivals at Mercedes and Red Bull respectively, fighting for several world championship titles and constantly looking to get ahead of one another.

That rivalry was arguably at its most heated during the 2021 season, when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen from the opposing teams battled hard for the drivers' championship, with Red Bull and Verstappen eventually coming out on top.

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But Horner and Wolff's war of words continued on beyond then, despite Red Bull going on to dominate the sport with Mercedes lagging behind post 2021.

That was until Horner was axed from his position as Red Bull team principal after 20 years last July, following a period of poor performance for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Now, in his first public appearance since that sacking, Horner has spoken about his rivalry with Wolff, who is still in his position as Mercedes team principal.

"A lot of people made a lot out of the rivalry I had with him. I have a huge amount of respect for him," Horner told The Independent.

"He has been tremendously successful, he has won a huge amount. He is very bright. We are just different people, equally competitive, just different. And sport is boring if everybody is friendly and loves each other.

"You have got to have a rivalry that will create a real interest. The worst thing is if everyone is too nicey-nicey and chummy."

Horner move to Alpine on the cards?

The off-season has been dominated by talk of Horner returning to F1, and it has emerged that he is negotiating with Alpine.

Horner has suggested that he wants more of a team ownership role if he opts to return to F1, but also told the Independent that he wants it to be at a 'winning' team.

Initially, Horner was linked to a purchase of the 24 per cent stake in Alpine owned by Otro Capital, that consortium comprised of A-List names such as Ryan Reynolds.

Alpine team chief Flavio Briatore confirmed that Horner was in talks to buy that stake during Alpine's 2026 car launch, and said: "I’ve known Christian for many years, I talk with Christian anyway, but this has nothing to do with me.

"First, you need to buy Otro, and after Renault needs to accept the buyer, and after we see what happens. But it has no link with me because he is negotiating with Otro, not negotiating with us."

During an appearance on Sky Sports Germany's podcast Backstage Boxengasse, pundit Ralf Schumacher said about the potential Horner-Alpine link-up: "So, from what I’ve heard, it’s already been decided, but not before the middle or autumn of next year."

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F1 Red Bull Mercedes Christian Horner Toto Wolff