Christian Horner questions Toto Wolff decision to publicly criticise Mercedes

Mercedes - Red Bull

Horner questions Wolff decision to publicly criticise Mercedes

Red Bull and Mercedes bosses continue verbal spat

Ian Parkes

Wednesday 9 June 2021 08:00

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has questioned Toto Wolff's chastisement of his Mercedes team following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

While Wolff did not point any figures at an individual, his admonishment of Mercedes' performance in Baku that followed hot on the heels of its poor display in Monaco was wide-sweeping.

The Austrian declared what unfolded in Baku was "painful", and that operationally the team is not on its "A game" and that overall it was "not meeting our own expectations, all of us together – Lewis, the engineers, myself, everyone in the team".

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Asked whether such remarks surprised him, Horner said: "A lot's been made of Toto's comments over the weekend.

"He's never afraid to roast his team so publicly, which I disagree with. That's his prerogative."

Horner's initial remark was a reference to a war of words between the pair in Baku, sparked by the flexi-wing furore.

Horner initially suggested to Wolff he should 'keep his mouth shut' and to be 'careful what he wished for' given the apparent flexing of Mercedes' front wing.

Wolff responded in kind by declaring Horner "a windbag who wants to be on camera". Horner's latest comment is unlikely to sit well with Wolff.

Red Bull facing "swings and roundabouts" battle with Mercedes

It was Horner who emerged from Baku with the last word but also the last laugh in light of Sergio Perez's triumph.

The Mexican scored his first win for the team following team-mate Max Verstappen's tyre failure and Lewis Hamilton's shock lock-up at the restart after a lengthy red-flag period.

Horner, however, is expecting the battle between the two teams to be one of "swings and roundabouts".

Horner added: "Max could have come out of the weekend putting 10 points onto his championship lead, 10 or 11 with the fastest lap if he'd finished where he was with five to go, so he could have been 15 up.

"He's still four up but at one point he was also looking like he could be 21 down if Lewis had nicked the victory.

"So it's swings and roundabouts, and it's going to do this throughout the championship while the performance is so close, which makes it so exciting to be part of. It motivates everybody in the team to a whole new energy level."