- Toto Wolff says he doesn’t want to intervene further in Christian Horner saga
- Wolff is eager not to turn the situation into a battle between teams
- The Red Bull boss insists he retains Red Bull’s full support
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insisted that although the handling of the ongoing Christian Horner saga is ‘very critical for F1’, he does not want to get involved anymore as he fears that turning it into a battle between teams would further damage the sport.
Wolff called for greater transparency on Thursday after Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal investigation into ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards a female colleague.
A collection of WhatsApp messages and photographs that Horner allegedly sent to the Red Bull employee were leaked later that day, with calls growing for the Red Bull boss to step down or be sacked.
‘From where we sit, it’s really difficult to say any more. This is now a decision for Red Bull and the governing body (FIA),’ said Wolff, after the Bahrain Grand Prix. ‘It’s not in the hands of competitors to have any action.
‘If we go beyond what we’ve already said (and try to take action), it looks like a battle between competitors in Formula One. I don’t want to reduce it to that level. It is a much wider issue that deserves more space.
Horner (pictured with wife Geri Haliwell) was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal
![Toto Wolff says he doesn't want to intervene further with regards to the Christian Horner saga](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/02/20/81963825-0-image-a-77_1709409932353.jpg)
Toto Wolff says he doesn’t want to intervene further with regards to the Christian Horner saga
![Wolff was full of praise for Red Bull's Max Verstappen following his 55th Grand Prix victory](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/02/20/81963567-0-image-a-76_1709409681455.jpg)
Wolff was full of praise for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen following his 55th Grand Prix victory
I don’t want to harm it by making it an intra-team battle. The moment I continue to question, I’m not doing any good. I very much hope that the governing body sets the goalposts right,’ Wolff added.
Wolff admitted that he ‘unfortunately’ missed the moment when Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell walked into the paddock hand-in-hand in a show of solidarity before the race on Saturday.
Speaking after George Russell came 5th and Lewis Hamilton came 7th in the season opener, the German highlighted engine issues for Mercedes which also disrupted power unit customer team, Williams. Though he was full of praise for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after a dominant drive that took the Dutchman to his 55th Grand Prix victory.
‘Max (Verstappen) is in a different league, a different galaxy,’ said Wolff. ‘We just have to acknowledge his performance levels. The performance was extraordinary,’ he added.
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‘But everybody else, we saw the differences between the Ferrari’s and I believe that the group of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes were probably in a similar ballpark.
‘We just need to look at ourselves, get on top of our problems and if we are able to manage our race weekend better, we will be racing those guys.’
Asked whether Verstappen would consider a move to Mercedes in 2025 given the uncertainty around Red Bull, Wolff said: ‘A driver will always choose the quickest car. Red Bull is the quickest car.’
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