Horner hits back at Wolff over Red Bull ‘CV’ taunts
Mclaren driver fulfils vow to celebrate through the night Victory all the sweeter thanks to ‘Lando No-wins’ jibes
Christian Horner has hit back at Toto Wolff in their war of words, saying the Mercedes team principal should “focus on his own issues” rather than try to stir up trouble for Red Bull.
Amid reports that Red Bull might be facing a staff exodus, the team’s principal added he had poached more than 200 people from Mercedes’s engine facility in Brixworth in the past few years alone, suggesting it was ironic Wolff and Mclaren chief executive Zak Brown should be making a big deal of “one or two” people potentially leaving his team.
Horner remains under pressure off the track after allegations from a female colleague of controlling and coercive behaviour. Although he was cleared by an internal grievance procedure, the employee is appealing against that verdict.
Confirmation last week that star designer Adrian Newey was to leave Red Bull next year provided Wolff and Brown with further ammunition to make life difficult for their rival.
Brown said in Miami over the weekend that Newey’s exit would be “destabilising” for the world champions, predicting that the 65-year-old was “probably the first domino to fall, my guess is not the last based on the resumes that are flying around. We’ve seen an increase in CVS coming our way from the [Red Bull] team”.
Wolff, who continues to openly court Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, said that he, too, had seen a spike in Red Bull CVS “through all of the levels [of seniority]”.
Horner, though, denied claims of unhappy staff and said they were a distraction technique.
“It’s inevitable,” he said. “You know the two candidates involved. I’d be more focused on Toto’s own issues. Mercedes, we’ve taken 220 people out of HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] into Red Bull, so when we talk about losing people I would be more worried about the 200, not one or two.”
He promised he was going to party all night in celebration of his maiden Formula One victory. And, by the looks of it, Lando Norris lived up to his boast.
The Mclaren driver, who triumphed in Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, inflicting a first on-track defeat in 20 races for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, was pictured in various locations around the city as he enjoyed a well-earned night out.
Norris was spotted rubbing shoulders with some of American sport’s biggest stars at the Carbone Beach party. The guest list there included Super Bowl champions Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, of the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, and NBA royalty Lebron James and Kevin Durant.
There were also pictures posted on Instagram of Norris, Verstappen and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at E11EVEN, a Miami nightclub that boasts trapeze dancers, burlesque shows, DJS and live music performances.
Fittingly, given it was their first win in the United States since 2012, Norris also partied with his team back at their Hilton hotel until the early hours.
Speaking earlier, Norris had joked that he “might have more than just a scratch on his nose” by the morning, a reference to the injury he picked up at a boat party in Amsterdam the previous week.
Norris had spent much of the build-up to Miami having to explain what had happened on the boat and why he had a plaster over his nose. But he refused to be embarrassed, arguing he was entitled to let off steam with his friends. And he seemed to venture into the Miami night in the same spirit.
“I mean, I was meant to fly [tonight] but Zak [Brown, Mclaren chief executive] just told me we fly tomorrow. I’m not going to sleep. I’m going all the way. I might have more than just a scratch on my nose tomorrow, but I don’t care. I’ll enjoy my time. This only happens once when you’re taking your first win. It’s nice to do it here in Miami. I was kind of hoping it was going to be at Silverstone, but I’ll try to do it there as well.”
That last comment prompted a retort from Verstappen, sitting next to him: “It’s definitely better here, mate, to go out!”
“True,” Norris replied. “So, tonight’s going to be a good night.”
Norris had cut a relaxed figure in his post-race press conference, admitting it was a “weight off the shoulders” to have notched his first win after some famous near-misses.
He reserved particular thanks for the boo-boys who had taken to calling him “Lando No-wins” on social media.
“I go on Instagram and I like all the comments of people abusing me, I freaking love it,” Norris said. “It makes me smile more than anything, especially ‘Lando No-wins’. That’s become a thing.
“So, yeah, for me to finally prove those people wrong and prove to people that didn’t think I could go out and do it, it’s put an even bigger smile on my face today. So, I thank all of them.”
Norris also said it was “a cool moment” when former US president Donald Trump, a guest of Mclaren’s at the race, went up to congratulate him afterwards.
Trump is on trial in New York for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star. But Norris said the 77-year-old was someone for whom “you have to have a lot of respect”. “I didn’t see him in the garage, to be honest,” Norris replied when asked what it was like to have Trump in the Mclaren garage pre-race. “I was busy prepping for the race. But he saw me afterwards, and he came up to congratulate me.
“So, I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respects for what you’ve done.”
Norris added: “He said he was my lucky charm because it’s my [first] win. So, I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now.
“But, yeah, there are a lot of special people or cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you have to have a lot of respect for in many ways.
“And for anyone like that who acknowledges what you can go out and do and acknowledges the work ethic that goes into things, you got to be thankful for that. And I was. So yeah, a cool moment. And that’s all.”