Christian Horner has continued the ongoing feud between himself and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, confirming he has ‘no relationship’ with the Austrian.
Mercedes and Red Bull are the two teams battling it out at the top of the constructors’ leaderboard, with the former just edging it in first with three races to go.
Despite this Red Bull do have the advantage in the drivers’ standings as Horner’s star man, Max Verstappen is the man leading the way just ahead of Mercedes driver, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Throughout the campaign both teams, drivers and bosses have clashed on numerous occasions as they battle it out at the top, and this week in Qatar is set to be no different.
Ahead of the race in Doha, Horner has insisted he shares no relationship with Wolff, and highlighted the Austrian’s controversial words at the Brazilian Grand Prix after he said to driver Hamilton ‘f*** them all' over their team radio.
The Red Bull boss said: “There is no relationship. There is a competition.
“I was interested to hear Toto's views after the sprint race on his team radio '[F*** them all]. It's the first time they have been challenged.
“It's been far the most intense, political fight we have been involved in.”
Mercedes and Red Bull tensions have heightened even more over the past week, following a controversial move from Verstappen in Sao Paulo last Sunday where he appeared to rear Hamilton off the track on lap 48.
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Following the near coming together the Dutchman’s driving was assessed by stewards in-race, however the FIA found no wrongdoing from Verstappen meaning he was able to escape a five-second penalty.
Despite being let off the hook, the Red Bull racer still ended up surrendering his lead to Hamilton who went on to clinch victory in Brazil for his sixth top spot of the season.
However the win was deemed not enough for Mercedes, who once again appealed against the original decision surrounding Verstappen’s controversial move, with a potential grid penalty in Qatar the penalty if new presented evidence proved he was guilty.
Mercedes’ new evidence however did not prove to be enough as the Dutchman was once again deemed to have caused no infringement to Hamilton.
Following the off-track controversy, Horner added that he hopes that their title battle can remain on the track, and out of the stewards’ room.
He continued: “We want a fair fight. It shouldn't be done in a stewards room or court of appeal. It needs to be done on track. There is too much at stake. We just want to make sure the playing field is level.”
In spite of his frosty relationship with his Mercedes nemesis, the Red Bull boss did admit he still has huge respect for seven-time world champion Hamilton, and his team.
Horner commented: “There is respect for everything Mercedes has done and what Lewis Hamilton has done but I don't need to go to dinner with Toto and I don't need to kiss his a*** or anything like that. There are a few other team principals that might.”
