Christian Horner’s sarcastic reply to Toto Wolff’s Hollywood actor jibe before Mexican GP

George Russell joins Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admits he is flattered by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s comments suggesting the Brit is a ‘pantomime protagonist’, insisting it is all part and parcel of the title race. This year’s championship is one of the most exciting battles in recent Formula 1 history.

Mercedes currently lead Red Bull by 23 points in the constructors’ standings but the Milton Keynes-based team have the advantage in the Drivers’ Championship as Dutch star Verstappen leads seven-time world champion Hamilton by just 12 points with five races to go.

Horner and Wolff have exchanged a number of comments this year amid their teams’ fight, adding to the drama surrounding the on-track battle.

Wolff called Horner ‘a bit of a windbag’ back in June, while Red Bull was vocal in its criticism of Hamilton in the wake of his crash with Verstappen at the British Grand Prix a month later.

Wolff since told the Daily Mail: “What Christian says about me feeling pressure — no, not at all. I feel he is one of the protagonists in a pantomime, part of the Formula One cast, and for me as a stakeholder, as a team owner, it’s great that he creates these kinds of stories.

“But it’s irrelevant. People have a microphone in front of them or a camera on them and they start to behave like little actors, like Hollywood.

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But Horner made a sarcastic reply to Wolff’s latest comments: “We all know Toto has a lot to say.

“I was quite flattered actually. Being called the protagonist, if you look up what the definition of that means, I think you also need an antagonist to have a protagonist.

“One could say that perhaps Toto fills that role pretty well, or if it were a pantomime, maybe the pantomime dame role might suit him.

“But look, it’s all about what goes on on-track, and I think that it’s a great competition between the teams. It’s no holds barred, it’s pit wall going against pit wall, drivers against drivers, engine suppliers against engine suppliers, chassis against chassis, and it’s fantastic.

“We’re loving it, and occasionally, you’re going to get some flack thrown at you. But I take it with a pinch of salt, and sometimes, even as a compliment.”

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The 47-year-old believes the rivalry and war of words between himself and Wolff was just ‘noise’ compared to the on-track battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, but admitted either of the titles would be the sweetest yet for Red Bull, who entered Formula 1 in 2005.

“I have no issue with Toto, I think he’s done a great job there, in a team that he inherited,” Horner revealed. “Of course there is respect. 

“Mercedes are a phenomenal team. They’ve achieved great things, and there is of course a respect between the two teams – but it’s a competition. 

“You can’t just accept, if we roll over and accept Mercedes win every race, it’s pretty boring, and why do we turn up? We’re here to go racing, we want to take the challenge, we’ve been fighting to get into this position to take the fight to Mercedes for seven long seasons now.

“We’ve got ourselves into a competitive position. We want to make sure that we do our very, very best to convert this between now and the end of the year.

“It will be by far our biggest achievement in Formula 1 if we manage to do that in either of the championships.”

Red Bull are the favourites to secure the win in Mexico this weekend, as the high altitude of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez subsequently helps the Honda engine more than its Mercedes counterpart.

Hamilton started the weekend with a one-two in first practice at the Mexico City circuit on Friday but Verstappen and Red Bull dominated in the second session.

The 24-year-old surged ahead, finishing four-tenths clear of Valtteri Bottas and another tenth faster than Hamilton.

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