It isn’t Formula One if there isn’t some controversy or the other. Frankly, for some of the more seasoned F1 fans, it is a little refreshing to see classic rivalries make a return. The most recent beef is between Mercedes star George Russell and Red Bull reigning champion, Max Verstappen. Everything about this new rivalry can be traced back to last weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix, and it is threatening to turn ugly.

The situation has now reached a stage where their respective team principals are getting involved. Earlier, Christian Horner called Russell hysterical, and Wolff was not about to take it lying down. The Austrian dubbed his Red Bull nemesis a ‘yapping little terrier,’ and now Horner has responded.

F1 fans had a blast reacting to the Red Bull-Mercedes feud

According to Horner, he was choosing to take it as a compliment, and he explained the reason. The Briton used to own terriers and insisted that they were good dogs. He couldn’t resist taking a jab at Wolff though, “To be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing? They are not afraid of having a go at the bigger dogs. I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf maybe.”

As one would expect in the age of social media, the entire situation has gone viral. Especially the fact that Wolff and Horner were trading barbs in the media. Fans on Reddit found the entire thing hilarious and had to make light of the saga. One fan joked, “Fanfic writers: And then Christian said to Torger “I’m not afraid of a big dog”.”

Few fans missed the time when team principal relationships were frosty. Another fan said, “Guys let him have his warm-up! He didn’t bicker with Toto since ’22, it’s gonna take a while until he’s fully back.” This was obviously back when Mercedes could still consider themselves as fierce Red Bull rivals, coming off a 2021 season where Verstappen stopped Hamilton from winning his 8th championship in dramatic fashion, taking it home for Red Bull. Back then, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff often had it out for each other.

However, the general populace was a little disappointed in the Red Bull team principal for an unusual reason. As one person put it, “He had a whole day to come up with a comeback…” Another bemoaned the opportunity to take advantage of a pun on Wolff’s name. They said, “I’m disappointed in Christian. The Wizard of Oz jokes were RIGHT there for the taking, and you fumble it?!” One fan chimed in with a pun of their own, saying, “Bro does NOT have that dawg in him anymore.” This fan was questioning Horner’s comment from a canine lens, lamenting the Red Bull team principal’s banter skills as well, saying, “Who tf would rather be a terrier than a wolf? He’s got better banter than that.”

How did this madness begin in the first place?

Last weekend during the Qatar GP qualifying session, there was a close call between Russell and Verstappen. Under normal circumstances, Max Verstappen would have been in trouble for impeding, but neither were on timed laps. Nevertheless, the FIA penalized the Dutchman with a one-position grid penalty.

Of course, the reigning F1 world champion was none too pleased and made his feelings known. “I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard,” Verstappen said. “And that for me… I lost all respect.” Russell fired back, insinuating that the Red Bull star was a dangerous driver and a long-time bully.

“I find his comments pretty ironic when he comes out and says, ‘I’m going to purposefully crash into you, I’m going to put you on your f—ing head in the wall’ – for me that isn’t acceptable and he’s gone beyond the line here, and I’m not going to accept it,” Russell said. “I’ve lost respect for him because we’re all fighting on track and it’s never personal. Now he’s made it personal, and someone needs to stand up to a bully like this. So far, people let him get away with murder.” From that point onwards, things turned ugly between the Briton and the Dutchman. As mentioned before, it got so bad that their team principals also got dragged into the feud.

Clearly, they’re not fond of each other at the moment, but one driver who was particularly enjoying this blow-up was Lando Norris. The McLaren driver also had his fair share of back and forth with Verstappen as they competed for the championship this year, but confessed that he wants Russel vs Verstappen to go on. “I hope it doesn’t get smoothed out. I hope they stay fighting and arguing, cause it’s amusing to watch,” said Norris. His sentiments were echoed by F1 fans who missed such heated rivalries, especially from two drivers who could be competing for a championship next season.

With only the Abu Dhabi GP left, there isn’t much for Verstappen and Russell to bicker about on the track. However, the verbal jibes could be a focal point of the offseason considering the team principals are also involved now. Whose side are you on? Team Wolff or Team Terrier?