Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner hit back at comments made against him by Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff by saying he’d “rather be a terrier than a wolf.”
The verbal jousting stems from a conflict between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes George Russell, who have been engaged in a war of words over the Dutchman’s one-place grid penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Russell has called Verstappen a ‘bully,’ and the Dutchman has called the Mercedes driver a “backstabber” in one of the spiciest dramas of the 2024 F1 season.
After Horner made comments in Qatar saying Russell was “hysterical,” Wolff responded in Abu Dhabi by calling the Red Bull Team Principal a “yapping little terrier.”
During Friday’s Team Representative Press Conference at the Yas Marina Circuit, Horner was asked his opinion on those “terrier” comparisons.
“Well, look, I love terriers, I think they’re great dogs and I’ve had four of them,” Horner said in good jest, taking the humorous approach to the situation.
“I had a couple of Airedales, which is the king of the terriers.
“I had a couple of West Highland terriers called Bernie and Flavio. And the good thing about a terrier is they’re tremendously loyal.
“I mean, Bernie, he was an aggressive little dog, he’d go for anybody. And Flavio, he was a bit more chilled out, he liked to spend time, you know, he probably ate a bit too much as well.
“But look, I think to be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing? They’re not afraid of having to go with the bigger dogs.
“You know, I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf maybe.”
Toto Wolff ‘loves to hate me,’ says Christian Horner
Asked if there will always be a conflict between himself and Wolff, Horner said “I really don’t know. I mean, it needs to be about what you do on the track.
“There’s a sort of a love-hate relationship where I think Toto loves to hate me.
“But, it’s one of those things. I would have assumed he’s sort of got a bit more on his plate with Lewis [Hamilton’s] last race for that team.
“I think they should be celebrating that rather than focussing on other aspects.”
Horner was also probed on Wolff calling him “weak” for not standing up to Verstappen when the driver gets confrontational.
This was one comment that Horner refused to rise to amid confidence he and Red Bull are doing a good enough job of running their F1 affairs.
“I’m not going to raise to the bait of that,” he said.
“Everybody manages themselves and their teams in different ways. We’ve won 122 races. We’ve won 14 world championships. I think we’re doing all right.”
But where does Horner’s opinion lie in the Verstappen, Russell conflict?
Unsurprisingly, the Red Bull boss is backing his star driver, as any Team Principal would.
“Max does nothing but tell the truth,” Horner said.
“So I believe 100% what he said to be accurate.
“Of course, there’s other people in those steward rooms as well and they also came back and reported that they were quite surprised at the, if you like, the approach that was taken [by Russell].”
READ MORE – Toto Wolff calls Christian Horner a ‘yapping little terrier’ after George Russell comments
