Mercedes small print prevents Horner factory tour

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner's tour of the Mercedes F1 factory in Brackley appears to be off as the terms and conditions of the Silver Arrows' offer prohibit staff from rival teams attending.

Horner won the tour of the factory in a charity auction at the Autosport Awards night, with teams from all motorsports offering prizes that amounted to almost £50,000 worth of donations.

The tour is set to be a guided walk through the home of the eight-time consecutive constructors' champions for four people, with Horner bidding £4,000 for the prize.

The small print in the offer, however, reads: "Please note that employees of other Formula 1 teams are not eligible to take this tour."

The bid seems to have been a lighthearted joke in the wake of a furiously contested and controversial 2021 season in which tensions regularly boiled over between Horner and counterpart Toto Wolff.