Toto Wolff and Christian Horner are always attacking each other’s side through the use of words. Both share a fierce rivalry as arch-rivals on the grid.
Toto Wolff of Mercedes and Christian Horner of Red bull racing are both team principals of their respective F1 teams. However, their rivalry is much more than just racing on the track.
The rivalry has further escalated in recent years. In 2021, it can be argued that friction reached its peak. Red bull and Mercedes went head-on for the 2021 title. However, the title ended in one of the most controversial manners possible further adding fuel to the already fiery rivalry.
This led to both clashing off track with words as their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fought on track.
In an interview, Wolff was asked about his intense rivalry with Horner, to which the Mercedes boss replied:
“I am living in his head rent-free.”
“The guy is obsessed. “Every second that I spend on talking about Horner is a waste of time in my life.”
“The principle of fairness was breached” – Wolff
The 2021 title ended in a hugely controversial manner. Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the last lap in the final race of the season after a safety car restart that seemed to favor the Dutchman.
FIA later gave a written report of the incident blaming human error for the controversial decision. Only lapped cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were allowed to unlap themselves.
Mercedes did protest against the decision. However, the protests were of no benefit. Wolff admits that he still thinks about the incident sometimes:
“At the end of the race, an individual took decisions that were not reflected anywhere in the rule book and were so drastic that they made the outcome unbelievable,”
Wolff said.
“That is a moment when you fall out of love with the sport… the principle of fairness was breached“
“The FIA took the guy out of the job because it was a human error. But it’s done and dusted now. I still think about it a lot, but not with anger; it is just incomprehensible how it came about.”
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