Toto Wolff and Christian Horner have often taken swipes at one another.
Toto Wolff has claimed that Red Bull’s Christian Horner was the only F1 team principal unwilling to sign a document in support of his wife Susie Wolff following a controversial FIA investigation last year.
Husband and wife Toto and Susie Wolff became the unexpected target of an FIA investigation in late 2023 after an alleged conflict of interest, but the F1 paddock rallied behind the pair.
Toto Wolff reveals Christian Horner hesitancy following FIA investigation
In her role as F1 Academy managing director, Mrs Wolff was falsely accused of overstepping the mark when it came to sharing information with her husband, Mercedes team principal Mr Wolff.
The investigation was over almost as quickly as it started, but not before the F1 teams gave their support for Mrs Wolff.
At the time it was seen to be a unified response, but Mr Wolff has now suggested his Red Bull counterpart Horner was initially hesitant to get involved.
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“I can take lots of s**t,” Mr Wolff told the Guardian. “I’m used to it.
“But if your wife is being dragged into a conflict she has nothing to do with, and her reputation is immaculate, that’s where the fun stops.
“But the response was great. I didn’t make a single phone call to any team. Fred [Vasseur, Ferarri boss] took it into his hands and said: ‘This is just so unfair.
“From Guenther Steiner [former Haas team principal] to James Vowles [Williams boss], everybody jumped on to this.
“They were all ready, but for Christian, to sign a document in our support.
“As far as I understand it he said: ‘I’m having my own Sky interview and I’m going to say I’m not part of it. I’m not signing the document.’
“The other nine teams said: ‘Fine.’
“But obviously he was advised that wouldn’t look great and he should be part of the statement.
“In the second iteration, he tried to get the word ‘official’ in the statement. He wanted a note to say that no one [among the team principals] officially complained to the FIA.
“The other teams said: ‘Fine. We do our declaration and you do your own.’ At the end, he signed it.”
The fallout of the investigation is not over yet with Susie Wolff filing for criminal damage against the FIA in March.
The former Williams development driver alleges she suffered reputational damage as a result of the unsubstantiated investigation.
