Christian Horner has been spotted accusing Toto Wolff of “taking a s***” over allegations Red Bull breached F1’s budget cap. The Red Bull boss said it was “incredible how ironic” the Mercedes boss spoke as he vowed to “destroy” the Silver Arrows.
The comments appear on new episodes of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, which were released on Friday. Max Verstappen also had a look at the Mercedes team principal, hinting that the German manufacturer attacked Red Bull because they lost the championship in 2021.
The footage was recorded prior to the Singapore Grand Prix as Red Bull came under pressure from competing teams. Horner said: “Fun and games with Mercedes is all over the top of this *** cost. I mean it’s unbelievable how much *** Toto says.”
Verstappen quickly replies: “Yes, I read.”
Read more: Toto Wolff expects Red Bull releases to ‘bite’ them will boost Hamilton
Horner then entered, asking if the pair were “making something up.” Although Wolff replies that they are “planning” while Binotto adds: “discuss about you, Christian”.
Rumors that Red Bull had exceeded cost cap rules first surfaced in Singapore but it was not until a month later that the designer was found guilty. The news was finally announced a day after Verstappen clinched his second world title at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The FIA found that the team had exceeded the cap by £1.8m ($2.2m) but agreed that this would only be £432,000 ($0.5m) if tax reports were submitted correctly. Red Bull had to wait several more weeks to find out about the penalty shootout.
This included a £6.3m ($7m) fine as well as a 10 per cent cut in wind tunnel development and CFD testing for 2023. Horner suggested the penalty was an “draconian” measure that could cost Verstappen and Sergio Perez around half a dollar. Second lap this season.
