Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has taken another swipe at his ex-rival Toto Wolff.

Speaking after Red Bull-Ford’s first victory as a power unit manufacturer, Horner claimed Wolff dismissed their chances of success Formula 1. “He said this [Red Bull] engine was going to be completely shit and a disaster,” Horner told The Guardian.

Horner founded Red Bull’s power unit programme after its former supplier Honda announced its withdrawal as a manufacturer at the end of 2021 (it returned this year with Aston Martin). Mercedes consistently refused to supply engines to Red Bull. Horner claimed McLaren CEO Zak Brown, whose team won the last two constructors’ titles, is unable to apply pressure to Wolff.

“Toto’s got it quite easy at the moment,” he said. “Zak Brown is compromised because he’s using Toto’s engine so he can’t ruffle feathers.

“All sport needs rivalry, whether it’s Ferguson and Wenger, Mourinho and Guardiola. It percolates and polarises. I used that to galvanise good people to take on Mercedes.”

Horner has given several interviews recently as he is promoting a forthcoming book. He claimed recent comments he made regarding his desire to run Ferrari’s F1 team were misinterpreted.

“Fred Vasseur is an experienced guy,” said Horner. “He’s done a decent job. But I, more than anyone, know the pressures of running a competitive organisation. My comments got taken out of context.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

Browse all Formula 1 articles