With such a gulf in class so far this season, the once fierce rivalry between team principals Toto Wolff and Christian Horner had appeared to diminish, until now.
Christian Horner recently ignited the rivalry once more claiming Toto Wolff’s number had been blocked on his phone.
The intense rivalry commenced in 2014 when Lewis Hamilton ended Red Bull’s championship dominance, as the Silver Arrows embarked on a reign of supremacy themselves.
From 2010 to 2013, ex-Red Bull man Sebastian Vettel won quadruple championship titles, instating Red Bull’s claim as the greatest.
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However, what no one expected was a 7-year Mercedes rule, in which Hamilton won 6 titles and Nico Rosberg 1.
During this time, Red Bull worked tirelessly to compete with their bitter rivals who gained titles, popularity, and accolades.
By 2021 the Red Bull machine was a new beast and Max Verstappen was able to outmanoeuvre Lewis Hamilton to claim his first world championship but it wasn’t without its controversy.
Verstappen was crowned F1 champion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap after a controversial safety car delay which ultimately lead to the exile of race director Michael Masi.
Since then, Red Bull have stayed on top, winning both the constructors and drivers title in 2022, an achievement that looks to be repeated this year.
Horner has been vocal about his need for matters to remain competitive.
“I think he’s blocked (on my phone). It’s fine. I mean, look, there’s healthy competition, and it’s good to have rivalry in sport,” said Horner when speaking on the Pardon My Take podcast.
“They did a lot of winning, they’re a great team, and now we’re doing our thing and we’re tending not to look behind and looking forward. It’s not really about Toto. It’s about Ferrari, about Aston Martin. And he’s no doubt got his challenges, so I’ll let him focus on those.
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“It’s boring if everybody just loves each other and whatever. You’ve got to have a rivalry and it’s got to fire people up.”
Toto Wolff shows no sign of ending the rivalry and made things clear when he spoke to The Times.
“I am living in his head rent-free. The guy is obsessed. Every second that I spend on talking about Horner is a waste of time in my life.”