Toto Wolff shoots down claims he and Red Bull boss Horner are now friends
Toto Wolff has explained the events that led to his viral photo with Christian Horner in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix paddock after the season finale, denying that he and the Red Bull team principal could now be classified as ‘friends’.
The two team bosses were captured embracing in the paddock after the final race of the campaign, putting their differences aside to celebrate their respective achievements after Red Bull confirmed a one-two finish in the Drivers’ Championship standings and Mercedes beat Ferrari to P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.
“That was on the way out of the paddock,” Wolff explained to Austrian news outlet OE24. “There was a nice group around Mark Mateschitz, his mother, and a few people I know well. I joined them and had a funny chat with Geri [Horner], and that’s how the photo came about.
“Friends? The last handshake might have been in 2021 before the last race. But you have to recognise the performance of your competitor. I have respect for what the Red Bull team has achieved.”
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.
Don’t miss… Ayrton Senna’s former team-mate rates where Max Verstappen ranks among F1 greats[LATEST]
Wolff was correct to acknowledge the team’s on-track success in 2023. Red Bull pushed out the boundaries of what is possible for an F1 team, breaking the record for the most consecutive victories as a constructor on their way to winning 21 of the 22 Grands Prix, with the only outlier being Carlos Sainz’s triumph on the streets of Singapore.
Touching on his prediction from earlier in the campaign that Red Bull would win every race in 2023, Wolff said: “Thank God I was wrong, at least they didn’t perform in Singapore. But in the end, the combination of cars and drivers couldn’t even come close to the rest, let alone hope to win.
More F1…
Christian Horner hints at Ricciardo and Norris hope with Sergio Perez comment[INSIGHT]
Max Verstappen speaks out after costing Red Bull record fee with 2023 success[NEWS]
Lando Norris ‘punishing himself’ as McLaren step in to make intervention[COMMENT]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
“They were in a galaxy of their own. And all logical arguments suggest that they will be very strong again in 2024. We simply have to get more performance out of the car. We’ll see whether we manage to do that on the stopwatch. Everything else until then is looking into the crystal ball.”
These comments echo those of Lewis Hamilton, who was extremely downbeat after struggling to make his way through the field following a Q2 exit in Abu Dhabi. The seven-time world champion made it clear that he expected Red Bull to convert their 2023 dominance into another title-winning car for 2024.
Source: Read Full Article
