Horner addresses Wolff's 'terrier' comment amid Verstappen and Russell feud
Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
- Jeroen Immink
The feud between Max Verstappen and George Russell does not seem to be coming to an end for now. After Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner said something about the Mercedes driver, Toto Wolff - team boss and CEO of Mercedes - was quick to respond to it again. Now, Horner has since responded to Wolff's comment again.
Verstappen was extremely displeased with Russell's behaviour in the stewards' room after the Dutchman received a one-place grid penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix for impeding Russell and driving unnecessarily slowly. Verstappen had some sharp words after the Grand Prix in Qatar, and he backed them up in Abu Dhabi, saying the Brit had better "f*** off".
Horner then stood up for his driver in the team bosses' press conference on Friday at the Yas Marina Circuit. "Max, he's a very straight shooter. He just tells you exactly how he sees it, and he tells the truth with exactly what he feels. Obviously, he had a large amount of frustration last weekend with the way things turned out and turned his grid penalty into motivation. He made a blinding start, led the race into the first corner, and won the Grand Prix. That was the best possible response," Horner said.
Horner responds to Wolff's 'terrier' comment
Horner called Russell "hysterical" after the Briton had been publicly critical of Verstappen over his statements after the Formula One race in Qatar. Wolff certainly could not appreciate that and described Horner as a "yapping little terrier" who reacts to everything. The Red Bull team boss addressed that too: "I love terriers. I think they are great dogs, I had four of them. The good thing about them is that they are tremendously loyal. Their names included Bernie and Flavio," said a smiling Horner, pointing to Bernie Ecclestone - former F1 boss - and Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore. "I'd rather be a terrier than a Wolff," Horner countered at the Mercedes team boss' statements.
Afterwards, Horner was certainly not done talking, and - as he has been for more or less the whole season in 2021 - went on about Wolff. "Toto is quite dramatic, as we all know. I wasn't talking about the psychology of his driver. And when I was referring to hysterics, I was more referring to the roasting that he gave his team when they fit a set of hards onto the car when he'd asked for a set of mediums and expressed his displeasure for the tyre choice that they'd put on the car. I'd get fined if I were to repeat the language that was used in this press conference.
"Obviously, a lot has been said. We know Toto likes to talk a lot, but that's the way it is. I think for us, we just want to finish the season on a high, have a great race, see these guys battle it out. Hopefully, everybody then can have a well-earned break and rest after this race," Horner concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!