The aftermath of Qatar reached Abu Dhabi. During the media day, there was a palpable tension between Mercedes and Red Bull. The focus was on the controversy between Russell and Verstappen, with Toto Wolff stepping in to respond to comments made by Christian Horner.
It all started during qualifying for the Qatar GP, when Max Verstappen lost pole position due to a penalty imposed by the stewards for impeding Russell with “unnecessary slow driving.”
This allowed the Mercedes driver to claim pole, although Verstappen still managed to win the race. Later, the Red Bull driver stated that he had “lost all respect” for Russell because of the British driver’s behavior in the stewards’ room.
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, called Russell “hysterical,” while Verstappen accused the Mercedes driver of being two-faced. The Englishman responded sharply, calling Verstappen a bully who considers himself “above the law” and claiming that in Qatar, Verstappen threatened to “slam him against the wall.”
Toto Wolff’s anger: “Horner is a little Terrier who talks”
On the heated Thursday in Abu Dhabi, Toto Wolff intervened in the matter, defending George Russell and openly attacking Horner for his comments and Max Verstappen’s management.
“As a team principal, it’s important to be a sparring partner for your drivers,” Toto Wolff explained to the media – “This means explaining that things can be more nuanced. Absolutist statements that consider everything right or wrong 100% are something I think need to be explained. You have to allow something to be 51-49, or 70-30, because there is always another side.”
“You have to explain it to your drivers and your team and come to the conclusion that there is truth on both sides. If you don’t do that, you’re not up to your role. It’s just a weakness.”
Toto Wolff then directed his words straight at Christian Horner, calling him a little Terrier: “Why does he feel entitled to comment on my driver? If you think about it for 90 seconds, [he’s] a little terrier who talks, he always has something to say. It’s a matter between drivers. It’s about George and Max and I don’t want to get involved in this, but when the other team principal calls George hysterical, that’s where the line is crossed. His quality is certainly not that of a psychoanalysis intellectual, but how dare he? How dare he comment on my driver’s state of mind?” – he pointed out ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.
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