Wolff With Counter Jibe: Advises Horner To Work On His Math

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 at 18:00

Mercedes' team principal, Toto Wolff, hit back at his nemesis from Red Bull for statements made during the weekend in Miami.

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner have one of the greatest rivalries on the grid despite Mercedes not being competitive for two years already.

The latest feud started before the Miami Grand Prix weekend when the Mercedes team principal suggested he had seen an increased inflow of CVs from Red Bull Racing around the time of Adrian Newey's departure announcement.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown said the same thing, so it seemed like Red Bull's F1 team was really under threat of slow collapse. However, Christain Horner couldn't let that slide, and he hit back at the Austrian team principal. He said:

"Mercedes, we have taken 220 people out of HPP [Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains] into Red Bull Powertrains. So, when we are talking about losing people, I would be a bit more worried about the 220 than maybe one or two CVs."

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The media approached Wolff with this statement during the latest weekend at Imola Circuit in Italy, and he completely denied the figures given by Horner. As F1i.com reports, he said:

"You've got to work on the math. 19 engineers. And so, you know, whatever those numbers are, I think there is a natural fluctuation between teams that come and go, which is completely normal."

The 52-year-old then went on to praise his power unit production, which rightfully deserves all the praise. Since 2014, Mercedes always had one of the best (and often the best) engines on the grid.

"We have an engine department that is as good as it can be, with a top leadership., there is not a millimetre in HPP that should be different in terms of organisational set-up, in terms of the people that works there that I'm lucky to interact with, it's a perfect organisation."

Red Bull plans to produce their own power units starting from the 2026 season, and Wolff added he can't wait to see "different levels of performance."

"[Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains] have delivered for a long time. Since 2014 we have been the benchmark, with maybe another engine the benchmark, that hasn't changed. I really can't wait for 2026 to come and see the different levels of performance of the power unit."