Toto Wolff Reacts To Christian Horner's Comments Of Poaching George Russell - 'Always Stirring The S**t Up'

Saajan Jogia | Sep 23, 2024

Toto Wolff 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, Friday - LAT Images / Mercedes Press Image

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reacted strongly to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner's comments about George Russell being on Red Bull's radar for 2026 and beyond. Horner revealed that the Mercedes driver, whose contract expires at the end of next year, was a potential option for Red Bull.

Amid the performance struggles of Sergio Perez and Red Bull junior team VCARB's Daniel Ricciardo throughout the 2024 season thus far, Horner was quizzed if Singapore was Ricciardo's last race of the season. The team boss preferred not to go into the details but revealed that a decision would be taken over the next three-week break about reserve driver Liam Lawson replacing the Australian driver. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, as reported by Motorsportweek.com:

“I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of driver contracts.

“There’s privacy between the company and individuals. Liam, the job he did for us last year in the VCARB car was very impressive.

“Now, we took experience over that because Daniel was our banker if Sergio [Perez] was to drop the ball. Daniel has had a reasonable season but it hasn’t been a stellar year.

“The question is how good is Liam and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made in order to get those answers. 

“We’ll sit down with all of those options available to us during this next three-week gap.”

However, Horner also stressed that Red Bull wouldn't mind considering options beyond its "pool," especially with potential talent such as Russell available in the F1 paddock. He added:

“We’re not afraid to go out of the pool.

“George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year.

“It would be foolish to not take that into consideration. There are other talented drivers that could well be out of contract as well.”

Wolff, who recently announced Mercedes' 2025 driver lineup with Russell being the lead driver alongside F2 talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli, responded to Horner's comments on the British driver. He told the media during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend:

"Christian is always trying to stir the s**t up."

Given FIA's crackdown on expletives considering his comment, Wolff was asked if he feared community service. He said:

"This is an excrement.

"It's very natural. It's not like having interaction with someone, but it's like going to the toilet. I think I would have a good argument with the stewards."

He continued on Horner's comments about Russell:

"So to come back to your point, I think he's just always doing the shit of his part. It's part of the game. George is a Mercedes driver, has been forever, and hopefully will be forever. We are comfortable."