Horner's Response To Wolff's Statement: 'Learned Not To Listen Too Much To What Toto Says'

Tuesday, 09 April 2024 at 18:15

Updated at Wednesday, 10 April 2024 at 10:58

Christian Horner addressed comments made by Toto Wolff, the team principal of the rival team, who suggested that no one is going to catch Max Verstappen and Red Bull this year.

While the third round of the season in Australia gave hope to fans of other teams, the fourth round in Japan seemed to have proved that the race in Melbourne was only a minor hiccup for the team from Milton Keynes.

Red Bull dominated the weekend from the start to the end. They started with a front-row lockout for the start of the race and ended with taking maximum points home for a one-two finish with the fastest lap.

During the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen scored fourth consecutive pole position this season and his third win in four races (one DNF).

Mercedes' team principal, Toto Wolff, whose drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished in P7 and P9, stated after the race that no one was going to catch the triple World Champion in Red Bull.

Read also

Ferrari Team Principal Annoyed, Dismisses Hamilton Related Question

He also added that the best his team can do now is to fight for second place in the championship with Ferrari and McLaren. Approached with a statement of the Mercedes team principal, Christian Horner told the media:

"It's very early to write off your year, there's still 20 races to go. I've learned not to listen too much to what Toto says over the years."

Red Bull currently leads the Constructors' Championship by 21 points, 21 points ahead of Ferrari. That isn't too big of a margin, and Horner is aware of that.

While the Italian team can't match Red Bull's pace on most tracks, they maximized every opportunity this season and stayed close to Red Bull.

The team from Maranello is right there, and if the Austrian team were to make some mistakes, they could lose the leading position in the Championship.

Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc has quite high expectations from Ferrari's major upgrade coming in a few races. The Monegasque suggested Ferrari could then challenge Red Bull on a more regular basis.