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Susie Wolfe It is suggested that Christian Horner “Played a character very well” during his tenure. red Bull The team and the allegations against them were “really a shame” f1,
Horner was relieved of his duties He took over as Red Bull F1 team principal in July after 20 years and 14 world titles, rebuilding his team from the bottom up.
He officially moved last month Received payment of £80 millionand Laurent Mekies was installed as his replacement as both chief executive and team principal.
As part of his agreement, it is believed the 51-year-old can return to the game next spring and Horner is keen for a role in the paddock, although he Would expect a team ownership-style situationNot dissimilar in type to Wolff’s husband Toto’s holdings at Mercedes – where he is chief executive and team principal as well as owning a third of the team.
Horner was in the middle of a media storm in early 2024 accused of inappropriate behavior By Red Bull Colleague. He has always denied the allegations and has been acquitted of the claims twice before by an internal investigation conducted by one lawyer and then by another lawyer who Complainant’s appeal rejected.
And Susie Wolff – who besides being married, is also the head of the F1 Academy mercedes f1 The boss – and Horner’s staunch rival – is convinced the scandal has damaged the sport.
“Christian was a supporter of the F1 Academy and for that I will always be grateful,” Wolff said in an interview. sunday times“It was a real shame for the game – the whole drama that was created with the allegations.
“We were getting a lot of positive momentum with the F1 Academy, and this all started and suddenly everyone wanted to interview me about it.
“He was someone who played the character very well. But I think that incident was probably not the best for the image of the game and showed that we still have work to do.”
Toto WolffThe rivalry with Horner really reached its peak during the 2021 season when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen engaged in a bitter battle for the Drivers’ Championship title, with Verstappen pipping the Briton by a narrow margin after a highly controversial finish to the final race of the campaign, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
When Red Bull let Horner go this summer, the Mercedes chief immediately revealed his true feelings in what was inevitably a mixed situation.
Wolfe said: “What I think [of Horner]Well, over the last 12-15 years, he has often behaved like an a**hole.
“He operates according to completely different values, but even the worst enemy has a best friend.
“On the other hand, he was extremely successful in what he did. Now that he’s gone, at least for a while, a real personality has left the game.
“He was controversial and divisive, but he was one of the main characters here. We can safely say he was just as important as a great driver.
“Looking at it purely from an F1 perspective, I don’t think there are many old-style team boss dinosaurs left here. Maybe just me. Maybe Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] A bit like a dinosaur!”