Christian Horner on Red Bull’s success and hints at next step
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Christian Horner has been spotted accusing Toto Wolff of “taking s***” over claims Red Bull breached F1’s budget cap. The Red Bull boss said it was “unbelievable how much s***” the Mercedes boss spoke as he pledged to “destroy” the Silver Arrows.
The comments come to light in new episodes of Netflix’s Drive to Survive which were released on Friday. Max Verstappen also took a dig at the Mercedes team principal, hinting that the German manufacturer attacked Red Bull because they lost the championship in 2021.
The footage was recorded ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix as Red Bull came under pressure from rival teams. Horner remarked: “Fun and games with Mercedes over all this cost cap s***. I mean it’s unbelievable how much s*** Toto says.”
Verstappen quickly responds: “Yeah, I read.”
Reassuring his lead driver, Horner interjects: “It’s all rubbish anyway.” But, Verstappen jumps in and pointed the finger back at Mercedes, adding: “They are so sore, you know – unbelievable.”
Firing up the Dutchman, Horner concludes: “Let’s make sure we f***ing destroy them.” Moments before, Horner had spotted Wolff and ex-Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto discussing Red Bull’s supposed breach.
Wolff told Binotto: “The transparency that we are all seeking now, you have teams that still don’t want to open up.” Binotto stressed: “Maybe I think what we need is a different approach.”
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Horner then walks in, asking if the pair were “making something up.” Although, Wolff retorts they are “plotting” while Binotto adds: “Discussing about you, Christian.”
Rumours that Red Bull had exceeded the cost cap rules first emerged in Singapore but the constructor was not found guilty until a month later. The news was finally announced a day after Verstappen wrapped up his second world title at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The FIA found that the team had exceeded the limit by £1.8million ($2.2m) but accepted this would be just £432,000 ($0.5m) if tax reports had been filed correctly. Red Bull had to wait several more weeks to learn their penalties.
This involved a £6.3m ($7m) fine as well as a 10 per cent reduction in wind tunnel development and CFD testing for 2023. Horner has suggested the penalty was a “draconian” measure which could cost Verstappen and Sergio Perez around half a second per lap this season.
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