Christian Horner thinks Toto Wolff ‘plotting something’ as Red Bull dominate

Red Bull chief Christian Horner believes Mercedes are plotting a major revival after falling way behind their Formula One rivals. Max Verstappen can win the Drivers’ Championship for a third consecutive year on Saturday with very little challenge to his dominance. 

Verstappen will breeze to another world title this year, and it will likely be confirmed at the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend. The Dutchman just needs to finish sixth in Saturday’s sprint race to retain his crown. 

It was previously Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton who dominated the sport. The Briton won six of his seven world titles between 2014 and 2020 but has struggled in recent years, failing to halt Verstappen’s success due to Mercedes’ problems. 

But Horner insists that his opposite number, Toto Wolff, will have a plan in mind to return to F1’s summit. The 49-year-old says the healthy rivalry for the World Championship is key to the sport’s appeal. 

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“For me sport is about rivalry. It’s great to have rivalry. There has to be a respect, but sport isn’t sport without rivalry,” he told Sky Sports.

“Obviously we haven’t seen much of him the last couple of years but I’m sure he’s plotting. I’m sure he’s got something that they’re working on.

“They’re a great team. They are a big team. They have got great drivers. They’ll be looking to fight back.”

Horner also admitted it ‘hurt’ when the roles were reversed, with Red Bull struggling to topple Mercedes during Hamilton’s era of domination. “It hurts when you’re losing and if it doesn’t hurt then you shouldn’t be doing it.

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“We had a long period, six to seven seasons, of hurt, of being the bridesmaid. But we never lost sight of where we wanted to be. We were the team to break that [Mercedes] domination, and everything goes in cycles.

“At some point somebody will beat us. Now, whether it’s Mercedes, or Ferrari, or McLaren, or Aston Martin, or whoever, we don’t know. But all we can control is what we’re doing. So that’s what we’re focused on, is ourselves.”

Mercedes have endured a tough season. Hamilton is third in the driver standings behind Verstappen and Sergio Perez. His Silver Arrows team-mate, George Russell, is eighth after an underwhelming 2023. 

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