Susie Wolff, the head of F1 Academy and the wife of Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff, says Christian Horner \u201cplayed a character very well\u201d during his stint in charge of Red Bull.<\/p>\n
And she has described the off-track allegations surrounding Horner in 2024 as \u201ca real shame for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susie Wolff: Christian Horner \u2018played a character very well\u2019 at Red Bull<\/p>\n
Horner was sacked by Red Bull in the aftermath of July\u2019s British Grand Prix after more than 20 years in charge, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies installed as his replacement as chief executive and team principal.<\/p>\n
The 51-year-old stands as one of the most successful team principals in F1 history having led Red Bull to six constructors\u2019 titles and eight drivers\u2019 championships \u2013 split evenly between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen \u2013 since his appointment in 2005.<\/p>\n
As revealed by PlanetF1.com<\/a>, Horner officially cut ties with Red Bull last month after agreeing a settlement worth\u00a0$100million (\u00a374.2m\/\u20ac85.1m).<\/p>\n When and where will Christian Horner reappear in F1?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Christian Horner as F1\u2019s next team owner? Where former Red Bull boss might land in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 team principals: How long has each team boss been in charge?<\/a><\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands that Horner will be free to pursue a return to F1 at some point during the F1 2026 season under the terms of his Red Bull departure.<\/p>\n It is widely expected that Horner will seek a team-ownership-style position upon his return, potentially in a similar role to that held by Mr Wolff, his long-term adversary who owns a third of the Mercedes team as well as acting as chief executive and team principal.<\/p>\n Horner was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a Red Bull colleague in early 2024.<\/p>\n He was twice cleared of the claims, first by an internal investigation conducted by a lawyer and then by another lawyer who dismissed the complainant\u2019s appeal. Horner has always denied the accusations.<\/p>\n Speaking to the Sunday Times<\/a>, Mrs Wolff has claimed that Horner \u201cplayed a character\u201d during his Red Bull tenure.<\/p>\n And she argued that the accusations made against the former Red Bull team principal \u201cwasn\u2019t the best for the image of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n She said: \u201cChristian was supportive of F1 Academy and for that I\u2019ll always be grateful.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a real shame for the sport \u2013 the whole drama that was created with the allegations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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].<\/p>\n \u201cHe was someone that played a character very well.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I do think that incident maybe wasn\u2019t the best for the image of the sport and showed that we\u2019ve still got work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Mrs Wolff\u2019s comments come after her husband \u2013 who was embroiled in a bitter rivalry with Horner during the classic 2021 season in which their drivers, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, battled for the title \u2013 branded the former Red Bull boss<\/a> an \u201ca**hole.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Wolff said:\u00a0\u201cWhat do I think [of Horner]?<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that over the last 12-15 years, he has often behaved like an a**hole.<\/p>\n \u201cHe operates according to completely different values, but even the greatest enemy has a best friend.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other hand, he was extremely successful in what he did.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that he\u2019s gone, at least for a while, a real personality has left the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was controversial and divisive, but he was one of the main characters here. We can safely say that he was as significant as a great driver.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking at it purely from an F1 perspective, I don\u2019t think there are many old-style team boss dinosaurs left here.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe just me. Maybe Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] is a bit of a dinosaur too!\u201d<\/p>\n