Red Bull boss Christian Horner has said he’s “learned not to listen too much” to Toto Wolff amid his claim that Max Verstappen has secured the 2024 Formula 1 title.
Verstappen rebounded from his retirement in Australia to produce a dominant showing in Japan as he led home team-mate Sergio Perez to front a Red Bull 1-2 finish.
Having witnessed Ferrari slash its advantage in Melbourne, Red Bull has now opened up a 21-point margin over the Italian marque in the Constructors’ Championship.
Meanwhile, Verstappen, who has won three of the opening four races, has a 13-point gap to Perez in the Drivers’ standings as he bids to win a fourth consecutive title.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff stated the Dutchman’s 20-second gap to the closest non-Red Bull – Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – showed he won’t be caught this season.
“No one is going to catch Max this year,” Wolff commented post-race at Suzuka. “His driving and the car is just spectacular. You can see the way he manages the tyres.
“And basically this season now is best of the rest. That’s the fight that’s on.”
However, Horner believes it would be premature to make such declarations with 568 points still available while also taking the chance to have a dig at his long-time rival.
“It’s very early to write off the year. There’s still 20 races to go,” Horner responded to Wolff’s words. “I’ve learned not to listen too much to what Toto says over the years.”
Both Verstappen and Perez had been cautious about Red Bull’s chances of converting a front row lockout amid doubts over the team’s long-run pace through practice.
But despite encountering balance struggles with his RB20 on the opening lap, a crash triggered a red flag that enabled Verstappen’s crew to tweak his front wing angle.
Horner admitted he was glad Red Bull had the speed to avoid getting caught up in the strategic games behind them, hinting that a track temperature change also helped.
Asked whether he felt the competition had closed on Red Bull, Horner replied: “I think it’s so difficult to judge on one race versus another, it’s probably 15 degrees cooler track.
“So we can just take this one race at a time and just focus on our own performance.
“It looked at times it was very close behind, there was some good racing going on, and I was pleased that we were clear of it.”
Wolff clarified that Mercedes would not ditch the current regulations despite conceding the marque’s best chance of catching Red Bull is when new rules are introduced.
