The relationship between Mercedes and Red Bull, personified in its two leaders, Wolff and Horner, it has always been rather tight. But the war that took place in 2021 raised the tension to unbearable limits that broke this relationship definitively. The tremendous fight between Verstappen and Hamilton, the first real one faced by those from Brackley in the hybrid era, stretched the rope between the two so much team principals that it ended up breaking after the controversial final in Abu Dhabi in which Max avoided Lewis’s eighth title.
Of those muds, these muds… Because Wolff, in a statement to the British media The Times, it shows that the deal with his Red Bull counterpart remains completely broken. “I’m living in his head without paying rent, the guy is obsessed” says the Austrian, who adds: “Every second I spend talking about Horner is a waste of time in my life.” Words that speak for themselves and that come after a 2022 in which they have kept their distance because Mercedes has been out of the fight.
The wound that was opened in Abu Dhabi was so great that it has not healed yet, neither for Toto nor for Hamilton. “That period was incredibly difficult, because I had given everything and was on the verge of a great achievement,” says the boss, referring to the eighth twist that would have left Lewis leading the F1 summit alone. It was certainly the toughest moment for Wolff in his ten years at the helm of Mercedes, a time in which he has strengthened his bond with the 44: “We have been together many years and we talk as often as possible.”
process disappointment
Although it stings throughout life, there is no other choice but to turn the page and Wolff, Hamilton and all of Mercedes are at it, in the process of fighting again at the top of the grid after a hard year that ended with better symptoms and a hopeful victory from Russell in Brazil: “One of the hardest things in sports is processing disappointment, that’s when the team comes into its own.” They are at it, with a Toto who keeps his motivation intact: “I have great moments in F1, I love the team and I love the challenge.”