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<\/p>\nMercedes chief Toto Wolff expects Christian Horner to eventually return to the Formula One paddock but sees his former rival\u2019s departure as a reminder that even the sport\u2019s most prominent personalities are part of its orbit, not its center.<\/p>\n
Horner\u2019s shock exit as Red Bull team principal in July, after 20 years and eight drivers\u2019 and six constructors\u2019 championships, sent ripples through the F1 world, sparking speculation about a swift comeback.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell quipped at last weekend\u2019s Singapore Grand Prix that Horner had been reaching out to team owners across the paddock, though Wolff confirmed Mercedes had not been among them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear that when someone like that is gone, you\u2019re thinking, he\u2019s got to be back,\u201d Wolff, a co-owner of the team, told Reuters at the Marina Bay circuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this world moves so fast, the hamster wheel keeps turning. My feeling is probably he\u2019s going to be back, but where and how and when? I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolff\u2019s running feuds with Horner as their drivers battled for world titles were one of the most compelling narratives of the Netflix series Drive to Survive.<\/p>\n
Although Wolff said he did not miss the moments when their run-ins \u201cescalated, rhetorically, verbally,\u201d Horner\u2019s departure has certainly left the sport without one of its biggest characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the personality got too big, up for his own good within his team,\u201d the Austrian pondered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying that\u2019s him, but I think from a human standpoint, you\u2019ve got to be able to look yourself in the mirror in the evening and say, \u2018Have I been a little bit of an idiot today?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that self-reflection and introspection is super important to keep your feet on the ground at a time when you\u2019re winning Formula One races and the cameras are pointing at you.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen many, many people fail in Formula One, and on the outside, because they felt they were the sun and not part of the solar system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are an ecosystem here, all with our part in this ecosystem. And if you feel that you stand above your people and not with them, that is risky, long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Stare into the abyss\u2019<\/p>\n
Asked how he keeps his own feet on the ground, Wolff credited his wife, Susie, the former race driver who now runs the all-female F1 Academy series, and his upbringing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen drama, trauma, adversity, grief, all of this happening, and I always carry that with me,\u201d said the 53-year-old, whose father died of brain cancer when Wolff was a boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never believe in the success. I always stare into the abyss. Things can happen, and I need to be careful, so I kind of never believe the success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also highly important, Wolff said, is having people around him who are prepared to call him out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey speak up,\u201d he added. \u201cI think one of my weaknesses is certainly being very emotional on some occasions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when that kind of spills over… they push back. And sometimes, if you\u2019re the head of an organization, you need to be able to accept that, because it doesn\u2019t feel nice if someone tells you you\u2019re wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolff\u2019s sense of humor is never far from the surface and emerges again when he is asked if Formula One will miss Horner.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know the famous western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs the various characters, and he certainly covered the niche. I\u2019m obviously the good, (Ferrari\u2019s) Fred (Vasseur) is obviously the ugly one, and so…\u201d<\/p>\n
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