Horner would “rather be a terrier than a wolf” after Mercedes “pantomime”

Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner has shrugged off Mercedes chief Toto Wolff’s criticism after the pair weighed in on a high-profile spat between their drivers Max Verstappen and George Russell.

Verstappen and Russell came to blows at last week’s Qatar Grand Prix over how Verstappen felt Russell went overboard trying to land him a penalty for impeding in qualifying.

The spat subsequently moved into the public domain when both drivers aired their grievances on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, with Russell calling Verstappen a bully before being branded a liar and a loser by the Dutchman.

Unusually, Mercedes team boss Wolff also joined Russell’s media session to take issue with Horner branding Russell “hysterical”, calling Horner a “yapping little terrier” who was out of line commenting on his driver’s mental state.

When asked about the issue on Friday, Horner shrugged off Wolff’s remarks with what appeared to be a well-rehearsed retort.

“Well look, I love terriers. I think they’re great dogs,” Horner grinned. “And I’ve had four of them. Had a couple of Airedales, which is the king of the terriers. I had a couple of West Highland terriers called Bernie and Flavio. And the good thing about a terrier is it’s tremendously loyal.

“To be called a terrier. Is that such a bad thing? They’re not afraid of having to go at the bigger dogs. I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf, maybe.”

Horner dismissed Thursday’s rumblings as “end-of-term blues” as a tired F1 paddock drags itself to the finish line off the back of a record 24-race season, capped off with a gruelling triple-header that started two weeks ago in Las Vegas.

“Obviously, a lot has been made of it yesterday. It’s pantomime season, we’re getting ready for Christmas. So there’s maybe an element of end-of-term blues there, but I don’t think it’ll have any effect on the grand prix itself.”

When asked whether he was out of line labelling Russell as “hysterical”, Horner said he just referred to Russell’s expletive-laden response during the Qatar race to being put on old hard tyres rather than the mediums.

After his pitstop under the safety car Russell voiced his displeasure on the team radio by asking: “Why have we put the f***ing hards back on? They’re shit!” An explanation by his race engineer Marcus Dudley was left unanswered by the Briton.

With the benefit of hindsight Mercedes admitted that bolting on Russell’s available set of used mediums would have been the better choice.

Horner said: “I wasn’t talking about the psychology of his driver, and when I was referring to hysterics, I was more referring to the roasting that he gave his team when they fitted a set of hards onto the car, when he’d asked for a set of mediums and expressed his displeasure.

“I’d get fined if I were to repeat the language that was used in this press conference. Obviously, a lot has been said. We know Toto likes to talk a lot, but that’s the way it is.

“We just want to finish the season on a high, have a great race, see [McLaren and Ferrari] battle it out and hopefully everybody then can have a well earned break after this race.”

Photos from Abu Dhabi GP Practice