Drive To Survive Unveils Explosive Confrontation Between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner
Netflix's highly popular docu-series, Drive To Survive, has released its fifth season, featuring several highlights, including a tense exchange between team principals Toto Wolff of Mercedes and Christian Horner of Red Bull.
During the early stages of the 2022 campaign, several teams, including Mercedes, experienced an issue with porpoising. This problem was particularly evident in Baku, where Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time World Champion, suffered back pain as a result.
Mercedes worked to address the issue throughout the opening grand prix weekends, but their drivers still endured uncomfortable rides.
Red Bull, on the other hand, did not suffer significantly from the problem in a season where they dominated the championship, clinching both titles with several weeks to spare.
The issue of safety was raised in a meeting between the Team Principals and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, which led to a heated exchange between Wolff and Horner.
Wolff said:
“I can tell you that all of you are playing a dangerous game. If a car ends [up] in the wall because it is too stiff or it’s bottoming out, you are in the shit and I’m going to come after you.”
Horner was quick to respond, saying:
“Are we playing to the cameras here? I think this is probably better off-camera.”
Wolff replied:
“No, I don’t care. If you think this is a little game on performance, I’ll tell you, you are very, very wrong.”
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal at the time, chimed in to say "safety is a matter of team responsibility". The Mercedes CEO argued back:
“Each of you has found something to limit the problem, congratulations!”
The Red Bull team chief then shouted at Wolff:
”Well change your car. You’ve got a problem. Change your f***ing car.”
Following concerns raised by the Team Principals regarding the issue of porpoising in the early stages of the 2022 season, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali called a meeting to address the matter, during which he assured the teams that the FIA would handle the situation appropriately.
As the 2022 season progressed, porpoising became less of a problem, and in an effort to eradicate the issue completely, the FIA has introduced technical changes for the 2023 season. These changes are expected to enhance the stability of the cars and provide drivers with a more comfortable ride.