‘Divisive’ Christian Horner branded ‘a**hole’ in Toto Wolff assessment

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has claimed that Christian Horner “often behaved like an a**hole” during his time in charge of Red Bull.

And he believes the former Red Bull chief operated to a “completely different” set of “values” to his rival team bosses.

Toto Wolff: Christian Horner was ‘controversial and divisive’ during Red Bull tenure

Horner was sacked by Red Bull last month after more than 20 years in charge, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies installed as his replacement as chief executive and team principal.

Horner stands as one of the most successful F1 team bosses in history having led Red Bull to six Constructors’ titles and eight Drivers’ Championships – split evenly between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen – since his appointment in 2005.

Horner’s final years at the helm were defined by a bitter rivalry with Wolff as Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, then of Mercedes, battled for the title in 2021.

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Hamilton was famously denied a record eighth title at the controversial 2021 decider in Abu Dhabi as Verstappen secured the first of four consecutive World Championships.

Wolff has argued that Horner conducted himself “like an a**hole” for most of his Red Bull tenure, with the 51-year-old operating to a different set of standards compared to his rival team principals.

Yet the Mercedes boss has conceded that the F1 paddock is a poorer place without Horner whose impact, he believes, was as “significant” as that of a successful driver.

He told Hungarian publication Formula.hu: “What do I think [of Horner]?

“Well, that over the last 12-15 years, he has often behaved like an asshole.

“He operates according to completely different values, but even the greatest enemy has a best friend.

“On the other hand, he was extremely successful in what he did.

“Now that he’s gone, at least for a while, a real personality has left the sport.

“He was controversial and divisive, but he was one of the main characters here. We can safely say that he was as significant as a great driver.

“Looking at it purely from an F1 perspective, I don’t think there are many old-style team boss dinosaurs left here.

“Maybe just me. Maybe Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] is a bit of a dinosaur too!”

Asked if it is significant to him that the battle between himself and Horner is remembered as fondly as some on-track rivalries, including Verstappen vs Hamilton in 2021, Wolff added: “Yes.

“If you look at it, it really has always been an interesting story.

“Those years, but especially 2021, weren’t just about Max and Lewis, but also about Christian and me.

“What’s more, it was really difficult at times – and that’s in every history book and always will be.”

Wolff went on to quip that he will have to find a new sparring partner in Horner’s absence, adding: “He always said that I loved to hate him.

“So who should I hate now? It looks like I’ll have to find someone else…”

Wolff’s comments come just weeks after Zak Brown, the McLaren chief executive, claimed that meetings between team bosses will be “healthier” with Horner no longer involved.

Brown said of F1’s political battles during Horner’s Red Bull tenure: “It went too far.

“There’s always going to be politicking in F1 – let’s try and shut down their flexi-wings and that stuff – but when you start getting into frivolous allegations, that’s just going too far.

“If I look up and down the pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically, but the line is not being crossed – and that line got crossed before.

“I think that we’ll see a little bit of a change for the better.

“There’s a higher level of trust that now, if we sit down and have a conversation on a topic where we think there could be some confidentiality, and it’s just not an automatic: ‘I’m going to use that as a political weapon.’

“We’re going to be in a better place, a little bit more unified and a little bit more trusting that while we’re fighting on track, we can have a conversation about what’s good for the sport off it and that won’t get manipulated for political reasons and taken out of context.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Horner severed his ties to Red Bull last week when he was removed as a director of both Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology Limited, officially bringing an end to his tenure.

The 51-year-old was spotted on holiday in Croatia last week in his first public appearance since his departure was announced in the aftermath of last month’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Horner is widely expected to pursue a team-ownership-style position when he eventually mounts a return to F1, potentially in a similar role to that held by Wolff, who owns a third of the Mercedes team.

However, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone recently cast doubt on whether Horner would be interested in a return to the paddock.

Ecclestone, 94, claimed that Horner is only likely to consider a comeback if he can find a financial partner to help him take over a team.

He said: “At the moment, I think it’s still a bit of a shock for him.

“So he will gradually get over this and realise there are other things in the world to do and he’ll get on and do them.

“I have made it known to friends there [Red Bull] that maybe it was a little bit ruthless, to do it in the way that they did it, but they didn’t have much choice.

“They decided this was what they were going to do and they had to get on and do it.

“I don’t know how or where or whether he wants to [come back to F1].

“He probably doesn’t want to because the position he really wanted at Red Bull was to own part of the team.

“Unless he gets somebody to put the money up to buy a team, I can’t see it happening.”

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