Horner plays down Wolff’s no-deal Brexit concerns

Christian Horner has dismissed Toto Wolff’s suggestion that Brexit could create a ‘nightmare scenario’ for Formula 1 and the Red Bull boss is confident that whatever happens on March 29th, his team will deal adequately with whatever situation they are faced with.

Although owned by Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull have been UK based and operating from a custom-built facility in Milton Keynes since their inception as a race team in 2005.

With Mercedes boss Wolff suggesting yesterday that Brexit could force his team to reconsider their base in the UK, Horner commented that ‘as a Swiss resident [Toto Wolff] probably doesn’t have major issues with that’ but did agree with Wolff that a decision on Brexit needs to come quickly.

“Of course, Brexit is something that consumes the news, every time you turn the TV on at the moment you’ve got somebody talking about a hard Brexit, a soft Brexit, the backstop or whatever it is,” said Horner.

“Obviously, as a team, we do our due diligence but whether there is a no-deal or any deal, we will have to deal with it and life ultimately will go on.

“I think it’s important that we get to a conclusion sooner rather than later to get rid of all the uncertainty because it’s unsettling. Brexit is something that really does need to be addressed.

Toto Wolff says a no deal Brexit would have a “major impact” on the Mercedes team’s operations and would make it difficult for the team to remain being based in the UK. #F1Testing — Rob Watts (@robwattsf1) February 18, 2019

With Red Bull being one of seven F1 teams based in the UK, Horner suggested that his team at least will look to avoid making any kneejerk reactions until the situation is more clear.

“You can paint a doomsday scenario of Brexdit or you can maybe see how much it’s going to affect our daily life. I don’t think any of us can answer that question,” said Horner.

“Until a solution is found and a deal is put on the table, then we know what we’re dealing and we can adapt. When you’re swimming in the fog [as we are] at the moment, it’s very difficult to make plans without clarity.”

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