Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team’s team principal Toto Wolff (L) talks to Red Bull Racing’s team principal Christian Horner (C) and Red Bull Racing’s team advisor Helmut Marko during the third day of the F1 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on February 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
ABU DHABI–Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hit back at Mercedes rival Toto Wolff on Friday after the Austrian called him a ‘yapping little terrier’.
Wolff’s comment came as a row between Red Bull’s quadruple champion Max Verstappen and Mercedes George Russell blew up at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with accusations of bullying and lying.
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Reminding reporters at an FIA press conference that the pre-Christmas pantomime season was under way back home in Britain, Horner said with a smile that he had always been a big fan of the breed.
READ: George Russell-Max Verstappen row rocks F1 as accusations fly
“I think they’re great dogs and I’ve had four of them,” he said, his choice of names raising a smile with the nod to former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and ex-Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.
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“I’ve had a couple of West Highland Terriers called Bernie and Flavio. The thing about terriers is they’re tremendously loyal. I mean Bernie, he was aggressive as a dog, he’d go for anybody,” continued Horner.
Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff talk in the Team Principals Press Conference during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 05, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP
“Flavio, he was a bit more chilled… he probably ate a bit too much as well.
“To be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing? They’re not afraid of having a go with the bigger dogs. I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf maybe.”
Russell had called Verstappen a bully on Thursday, saying the Dutch driver had threatened to crash into him on purpose. Verstappen had suggested the Briton had lied to stewards in Qatar to get him stripped of pole position.
READ: F1: Red Bull boss Christian Horner stays in charge
Horner, who has had a long history of clashes with Wolff, said he was not worried about the row spilling over onto the track.
“Max, he’s a very straight shooter. He just tells you exactly how he sees it, he tells the truth exactly what he feels,” said Horner.
Asked whether he believed Verstappen’s version of events, Horner defended his driver absolutely: “Max does nothing but tell the truth. So I believe 100% what he said to be accurate.”
He told reporters Wolff was “quite dramatic’ and someone who liked to talk a lot.
“It’s a love-hate relationship. Toto loves to hate me,” quipped the Briton.
In 2021, Horner likened Wolff to a “pantomime dame” after the Austrian called him a “windbag”, with their rivalry also broadcast to millions via Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ docu-series.
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Between them, Mercedes and Red Bull have won every championship since 2010 although that will end this season with Ferrari and McLaren fighting for the constructors’ crown.