Toto Wolff: Always a political season
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said that Christian Horner should stop moaning after his Red Bull counterpart called for the FIA to equalise engine performance.
Speaking after Sunday’s Australian GP, in which Mercedes dominated and Red Bull struggled, Horner said the governing body was able to rein in the world champions’ advantage and should do so for the good of the sport.
Winner Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg finished half a minute ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari in third.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo could only finish sixth using a Renault engine Horner described as “undriveable”. Team-mate Daniil Kvyat failed to start after his car’s gearbox broke.
“If you come into Formula 1 and you try to eat each other, or perform on the highest level, and equalisation is what you need after the first race, and you cry out after the first race, it’s not how we’ve done things in the past and not how we’ve moaned,” Wolff said.
“I think just get your f****** head down and work hard and try to sort it out.”
Christian Horner: Says engine power should be equalised
Horner criticised Renault after the race, saying they are in “a bit of a mess” and that the performance of their power unit is getting worse not better.
It’s not the first time Red Bull have aimed such barbs at the French manufacturer who, unlike Mercedes, have struggled to adapt to F1’s new hybrid engine formula introduced last year.
In doing so, Red Bull leave themselves open to accusations of sour grapes. They dominated before the rules changed, and more than once since then Horner has called for the engine rules to be changed again.
However, the motive this time could have something to do with rumours that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz – said to be frustrated by the downturn in results and Sebastian Vettel’s departure for Ferrari – is considering selling up.
“It is always a political season. It was last year and it will be this year,” Wolff told reporters. “There is this wall in Jerusalem where you can stand in front and complain. Maybe I should go there.”
Closing the gap: Wolff thinks Ferrari can get closer
Meanwhile, after Ferrari confirmed the improvement they’ve made over the winter, Wolff reckons the Scuderia will eventually pose a serious challenge.
“I think it’s just a matter of time. Ferrari has it all, they have all the resources, they have the right people; they have the right drivers, [it’s a matter of time] when they can reduce the gap,” he added.
“Half a minute is not the world. It’s not like we’ve lapped the whole field.
“That was just the first race of 20 of the season. Let’s see what happens in Malaysia.”
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