Despite 2022 not seeing a titanic battle between Red Bull and Mercedes as seen so emphatically in 2021, it’s safe to say that Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are still very much rivals.
Whilst their sides haven’t been in the same battle this year that they were in last season, things have again started to boil over between the duo.
The recent announcement that Red Bull exceeded the 2021 budget cap is the main source of that, with Wolff having spoken publicly about it prior to the confirmation by the FIA.
Wolff’s comments resulted in Horner threatening the Mercedes boss with legal action, due to the comments being inaccurate, supposedly.
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It was fascinating to see their duel in 2021, whilst Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battled on the circuit.
The drivers fight was done on the track, whilst the team principals was done off it, with the pair having had very different approaches to their rivalry.
Horner was considerably calmer and more collected during the races and did his talking after the weekends.
Wolff, on the other hand, was much more uncontrollable during races and was often seen pointing at cameras, throwing headphones on the floor, or slamming the table.
The Austrian looked like a man out of control and a man who was afraid of seeing their dominant period end.
Both will say they weren’t affected by one another, but that is clearly a lie for all the world to see.
One would argue that Horner got the better of his Mercedes counterpart in 2021, with Verstappen having claimed the title, controversy aside.
Horner discussed his rivalry with Wolff in a recent appearance on ‘The Diary of a CEO’ podcast, where he told host Steve Bartlett that he knew he’d gotten to the Mercedes boss.
“I think the Brits are quite good at keeping a stiff upper lip and, you know, head down and get on with it,” Horner said.
“And for me, last year’s World Championship was very much about that. And you could see it was a titanic battle, not just between the two drivers on track but by the two teams off track, and a person you’re gauging yourself and pitched against as a team principal is your opposite number.
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“It’s a mental game as much as a physical activity as well. And, of course, it was the first time that team in the seven, eight-year period had come under any form of pressure, and I think you see people’s true personalities and what they’ve really got under pressure.
“So when you see your counterpart smashing up headphones and pointing and ranting at cameras, you know that you’ve got to them.
“Because then you know that if they’re venting in such a way, and they’re feeling that pressure, that the people beneath them are going to be offloaded onto as well. They’re going to be on the receiving end of that. And that, in my opinion, or my experience, would cause people to tighten up.”