Ex-Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert compared Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to Mercedes rival Toto Wolff following the Miami Grand Prix, after the Briton made a “cocky comment”.
Red Bull claimed their fifth win of the season at the Miami International Autodrome and their fourth 1-2 of the season, with the Austrians being in complete control of both championships.
With the Milton Keynes-based team being so far ahead of the rest, Horner admitted after Max Verstappen’s Miami win that the leading side are wondering where their rivals are.
“Five races, five wins plus the sprint, and four one-two finishes – we’ve never had a start like this and we’re kind of wondering, ‘Where are the others?’,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Horner’s comment was picked up on by Herbert, who shared that Wolff said “exactly the same thing” during Mercedes’ dominant era.
Herbert actually believer Horner was right, though, in questioning where their rivals are, with Ferrari and Mercedes in particular having made no inroads on the Austrians advantage.
“I remember Toto Wolff saying exactly the same thing when they were having their domination period so it’s a typical cocky comment, I suppose.” Herbert said on the Lift the Lid podcast.
“You know you’ve got a good car and you know no-one else has got a chance of beating you.
“And, actually, both of them were right when they mentioned those similar things. Where is everybody else? They’re right because you would expect – like the updates that came for Ferrari – you expected them to do something.
“But they didn’t do anything and the race pace again was lousy. Really, really poor. So there’s a lot of head-scratching going on and I think there’s some head scratching from Christian as well. ‘Why aren’t the other teams able to challenge us?’ We’re a few races into the season, but nobody has closed the gap.”
READ: Aston Martin warned Fernando Alonso will show his true colours amid Lance Stroll bromance
The podcast’s co-host, British racing driver Billy Monger added that Horner must be “loving every second” of Red Bull’s current superiority, with the Briton able to be “stress-free”.
“He’s going to be loving every second of this, sat there going, ‘Where’s our competition at?’ These are the years in Formula 1 which a team principal hopes will come around – the years where you’re in a league of your own with no-one to fight with. You’re just turning up and winning Grands Prix,” said Monger.
“Christian is going, ‘I wonder where we’re going to finish this weekend, let me have a guess’. That is a stress-free Christian Horner we’ve got this season.”