Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s rivalry during the 2021 season will go down as one of the fiercest F1 rivalries of all time. Crashes, great overtaking, pressure, and drama, it has everything. However, one cannot forget about what goes on behind the scenes as it’s not only the drivers but the teams competing as well. Christian Horner recently deployed some extreme measures to fend off Toto Wolff disguising it as healthy competition. But what exactly did Christian Horner say?

Christian Horner and Toto Wolff have been on each other’s backs long before the 2021 season. That is how F1 is. It’s not only about excelling but also about finding imperfections in the rivals’ plans. Last year was a prime example where porpoising affected Mercedes the most. Red Bull was clear of the problem and went on to win the championship. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem to be settling anytime soon as the Two TPs continue to scrabble at each other anytime an opportunity presents itself.

Christian Horner recently made a comment asking where the rival teams are as he pointed toward the RB19’s blistering pace. Toto Wolff and Co. seemed to have replied with the upgraded package but still Red Bull is far away in the distance. While Red Bull has fended off this blow, it’s not sure how long they’ll be able to hold onto the lead with the limited testing time and penalty that they’ve got. Nonetheless, Christian Horner has disguised all his comments against Toto Wolff including the latest ones as healthy competition. 

According to speedweek.com, Christian Horner deployed the extreme measure by suggesting that he blocked Toto Wolff as he said, “I think I blocked him. It’s all right, this is a healthy competition and it’s good for the sport to have a rivalry. They have won a lot, they are a great team. And now we are doing our thing and we tend to look forward, and not at what is behind us.” [Translated Via Google]

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Horner explained how the exchange of words is nothing but healthy competition between the two teams, which is bound to happen when both of them are competing for the same thing. The Red Bull TP concluded by advising that they are looking forward at the moment i.e. toward winning the championship, and are not worried about what is behind them i.e. Mercedes and Ferrari. 

Christian Horner on the new upgrades brought by Mercedes

The Red Bull TP was quick to acknowledge the fact that Mercedes seems to have made a step with the new upgrades as they finished P2 and P3 at the Spanish GP. However, Horner also added how the new W14 is a completely different version of the previous car and that Toto Wolff and Co. would’ve had to use a significant chunk of their testing time to develop it. And despite the step up, Lewis Hamilton ended 24+ seconds behind Red Bull.

According to crash.net, Christian Horner said, “For sure they’ve made a step. They’ve introduced pretty much a B-spec car. They must have used a significant proportion of their development budget on that. And when I look at the gap at the end of the race it’s very similar to where it was in Bahrain. All that’s happening is the running order behind us seems to vary from race to race.”

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What did you make of Christian Horner’s comments? Do you really think it’s just healthy competition or is there something more to it?