Christian Horner opens up on true Toto Wolff relationship – ‘We’re very different people’

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has opened up about his relationship with Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff. Horner and Wolff have shared a fierce rivalry in F1 which was particularly prominent last season as Red Bull and Mercedes battled for both titles.

Popular Netflix series Drive to Survive has showcased that their competitiveness against one another remains firmly intact away from the paddock, just as on race day. But many fans have pondered whether the pair have a friendship away from the cameras and track.

That doesn’t seem to be the case, though, with Horner recently claiming that they are ‘very different’, despite both performing the same roles in F1. However, despite shutting down claims he is pals with Wolff away from the sport, he suggested that there is mutual respect for what they have achieved at Red Bull and Mercedes, respectively.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said: “We’re just two very different people. Our priorities are different. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a respect, but we’re different personalities.”

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Horner has always gone on record to say he doesn’t have a personal relationship with Wolff but rather ‘professional’. And he has previously aimed a dig at Wolff over the differences between the two, suggesting he spends plenty of time in the Red Bull factory rather than ‘in exile’ abroad.

“We are very different, Horner explained. “If I’m not at the racetrack, I’m in the factory. I’m not living as a tax exile in Monaco, running a team remotely. I am hands-on. My diary is full from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave, dealing with issues within the team. I have very much an open-door policy.

“I grew up in the sport. I was a race driver that turned my hand to running a team. I’m a racer at heart. Toto has come from a very different background. He has a financial background and is very driven by what the balance sheet says. Results dictate that performance. Does he share the same passion as a racer? I have no idea. Will he be here in 10 years’ time, or will he have cashed in and be on his superyacht? I have no idea.”

There will undoubtedly be no love lost between the two, despite Mercedes’ early-season struggles finding them off the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull. Horner will be solely focused on delivering his team’s first constructors’ title since 2013 against a revitalised Scuderia in 2022.

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