Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has suggested that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has “got it quite easy” at the moment.
Horner, 52, officially left Red Bull Racing in September last year having been relieved of “operational duties” following last July’s British Grand Prix. It ended a 20-year career with the team, where he won eight drivers’ and six constructors’ titles.
The past decade saw Horner spar with Wolff as Red Bull and Mercedes did battle.
This season, Horner’s old team are currently fourth in the constructors’ standings with 11 podiums and two wins, both claimed by Max Verstappen during this month’s races in Bahrain and Singapore.
Mercedes top the constructors’ leaderboard, while Kimi Antonelli is first in the drivers’ standings having won eight races so far.
A potential return to F1 for Horner remains a hot topic and in an interview earlier this year, Wolff suggested Horner had “broken a lot of glass” to return.
In an interview with the Guardian, Horner said: “He (Wolff) also said this (Red Bull) engine was going to be completely s**t and a disaster.
“Toto’s got it quite easy at the moment. Zak Brown (head of McLaren) is compromised because he’s using Toto’s engine so he can’t ruffle feathers.
“All sport needs rivalry, whether it’s (Alex) Ferguson and (Arsene) Wenger, (Jose) Mourinho and (Pep) Guardiola. It percolates and polarises. I used that to galvanise good people to take on Mercedes.”
Horner also revealed in the interview that he has suffered from panic attacks and has worked to recognize the symptoms.
“I didn’t know what it was. You suddenly feel dizzy and conscious of your breathing and you think there’s something strange going on. I put it down to having had too much coffee on an oppressive, muggy, thundery day,” he said.
“Then it happened again. I got checked out and there was nothing physically the matter. They said: ‘We think you have anxiety. Your breathing’s very shallow.’ It was my body telling me you’re pushing pretty hard here. I’m able to recognize the symptoms now and let it go, and breathe.”