Toto Wolff Misses Christian Horner in the F1 Paddock
ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted that he misses his “great enemy” Christian Horner in the Formula 1 paddock, following Horner’s departure from Red Bull after 20 years at the helm of the team. Wolff and Horner maintained a notoriously tense relationship for much of their time together in the sport, which was one of the most attractive aspects of the legendary 2021 championship between their teams and Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Wolff revealed this week that both have been in contact via text messages since Horner’s departure in July.“It’s a bit ambivalent because, A: his track record is very good, one of the most successful in Formula 1. Clearly, there are things he did well within the team. I think he was, to a certain extent, respected in Milton Keynes. But we didn’t use to have the same opinion or perspective. So, he’s been a wonderful and great enemy for years. Do I miss him? It’s quite strange to come here and not have Christian around. I mean, what do you do without him? It’s a little weird. And then you have the pragmatism of [Horner’s replacement] Laurent Mekies. Suddenly, you can have a conversation about the long term. We are totally different people, but even your greatest enemy is your best friend.” The controversial Horner has been one of the most controversial figures in modern Formula 1. In a joke about the appearance of Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur, Wolff said that the sport needs villains to remain attractive.“He said to me: ‘What are you doing now, because you love to hate me and I’m gone!'”, Wolff commented to the Dutch media in Zandvoort.
Toto Wolff
“The sport needs that. In the past we had those massive characters and I hope some of the new team bosses grow into these roles in an authentic way, because you can’t fake it. Christian was one of those protagonists. He was frank, he was controversial, he was an idiot, and he loved playing that role. You need an idiot, people need to hate someone.” Horner’s next move has been the subject of much intrigue. Cadillac’s future Formula 1 team has already denied reports that the Englishman will join their project in any way in the future. Recent reports have linked him with a possible move to the struggling Alpine team, although it is unlikely that Horner will return to a conventional team principal role.“What I said is that every movie needs the good, the bad, and the ugly. Now the bad guy is gone, it’s just Fred and me left… Fred took a while to think about that,” Wolff said.
Toto Wolff
