Christian Horner says Toto Wolff showed a ‘complete lack of understanding’ in his comments about Max Verstappen

Toto Wolff hinted that Red Bull had built a car to suit Max Verstappen, to which Christian Horner responded; Verstappen went on to a record 10-race winning streak after winning at Monza. Watch all sessions from the Singapore Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from September 15-17

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff showed a “complete lack of understanding” of car development in recent comments made about the RB19.

Asked about the performance margin between world championship leader Max Verstappen and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, Wolff wondered whether the Dutchman’s “ability to create a car around himself that is difficult to control but fast if you can” was the explanation. .

Verstappen, who claimed a record 10th successive Monza Grand Prix win on Sunday to move 145 points clear of Perez at the world championship lead, dismissed Wolff’s comments and insisted “it’s not the case”.

“Well, I think I completely agree with Max,” Horner said in Italy.

“It shows a complete lack of understanding of how to develop a race car and a team, if Toto thinks we are developing a car around one driver.

“You develop a car to be as fast as possible, and sometimes fast cars are tough cars – and that’s been the case historically.

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit back at Lewis Hamilton’s claim that Max Verstappen has not risen to the challenge of racing against his strong teammates.

“I think drivers adapt. The good drivers you see in the wet, mixed conditions, mixed conditions, elite, they adapt quickly and I think one of his (Verstappen) key skill sets is his ability to adapt to the feel and levels of grip that the car gives him.

“But there is certainly no tendency to say, ‘Oh, we’re designing something for a specific driver’,” he added. us in this direction.”

WOLF: Drivers like to poke each other a little bit

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff wonders if Max Verstappen will be of any importance in achieving a new record ten consecutive Grand Prix victories.

Although Mercedes have been no match for Red Bull on the track since Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s fierce battle for the 2021 title, tensions between the rivals have escalated in recent weeks.

Hamilton said ahead of the Italian Grand Prix that he was “no more impressed” by Verstappen’s success than the former world champions, and also questioned the lineage of his teammates the Dutchman had had during his career.

The comments prompted Verstappen to wonder if Hamilton was “a little jealous” of his success, as the Dutch driver is aggressively on his way to winning the drivers’ title for the third time in a row.

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Max Verstappen took pole position at the Italian Grand Prix to set a new record of ten consecutive pole positions.

In response to what happened recently, Wolff played down the suggestion of any animosity between drivers and teams, stating that it was “part of the fun”.

“First of all, drivers obviously like to poke each other a little bit,” Wolff said.

“But then you could say Lewis raced with three world champions. He raced with Jenson (Button), he raced with Fernando (Alonso), he raced with Nico (Rosberg).

“But I don’t want in any way to diminish anyone’s performance because Max in the car is great. So yeah, it’s just part of the fun.”

Next in the Formula 1 circus are the stunning streets of Singapore under the lights. All sessions from the Singapore Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from September 15-17. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW. Cancel at any time