F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff has hit out at Christian Horner, claiming he “played a character very well” during his Formula 1 career.
Wolff’s comments come during intense speculation over Horner’s future, as media link the former Red Bull boss with a move to Ferrari.
Troubles within Red Bull made Horner’s final few months in the job unpleasant, while public allegations of inappropriate behaviour stained his reputation.
Two separate investigations cleared him of the claims he has strongly denied, which arose in early 2024.
Red Bull sacked the Briton in the aftermath of July’s British Grand Prix, as Laurent Mekies made the step up to replace him as CEO and Team Principal.
Horner is one of the most successful team principals in F1 history, having led Red Bull to six Constructors’ Championships and eight Drivers’ titles during his 20-year reign.
Amidst rumours of Horner’s return to the sport, Wolff, wife to Mercedes boss Toto, has opened up on how the saga was detrimental to the series that she heads.
“Christian was supportive of F1 Academy and for that I’ll always be grateful,” Wolff told The Sunday Times.
“It was a real shame for the sport – the whole drama that was created with the allegations.
“We were getting so much positive momentum with F1 Academy and that all kicked off and suddenly everyone wanted to interview me about that [the Horner saga].
“He was someone that played a character very well.
“But I do think that incident maybe wasn’t the best for the image of the sport and showed that we’ve still got work to do.”
READ MORE – Is Christian Horner the saviour Ferrari needs to break its F1 doom cycle?
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