Horner: Wolff smashing headphones shows he’s ‘feeling the pressure’

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has taken a dig at Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, stating it is clear that he is feeling pressure when he smashes headphones.

Over the last number of years, cameras have captured Mercedes boss Wolff throwing down his headphones in anger in the team garage amid moments of intensity.

Horner has questioned Wolff’s style and suggested that it is a poor appearance to give while managing an F1 team.

“Any sport is a mind game but when you see a camp part losing it and smashing a set of headphones up you think ‘OK, you’re feeling the pressure’,” Horner said on Sky’s Secrets of Success documentary. 

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“And if he is feeling the pressure, then everybody else around him is feeling the pressure, because pressure permeates from the top.

“I would never smash a set of headphones up. Internally I would have smashed mentally those headphones just as hard as him but I just wouldn’t have done it physically. I just think everybody is different.”

Red Bull and Mercedes endured an intense rivalry during the 2023 season when Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went head-to-head for the title.

The rivalry was also shared between Horner and Wolff, however the situation has cooled somewhat since the 2022 season, as Mercedes has been unable to consistently challenge Red Bull.

Despite having respect for Wolff, Horner says it would be “dishonest” to paint the picture of them being good friends.

“Toto I have a huge amount of respect for everything that he has done and achieved,” he said.

“But we’re competitors. I’ve never been a believer that you can be the best mate with your competitor. I think it’s dishonest.

“I want everybody in my team to see that whoever we’re racing against is the competition, that’s who we’re there to compete with and as a team that we’re united.”