"Controversial, polarizing and not soft-washed": Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's unique tribute to Christian Horner

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff shared a unique tribute for his former rival Christian Horner as he called him controversial, polarizing, and not soft-washed. The F1 world was stunned a few weeks back when Red Bull announced the immediate release of the team boss.

Horner had been a part of Red Bull since its inception as a racing team in 2005. Since then, he had built up the team brick by brick over two decades and transformed it into a perennial frontrunner. During this period, he led the team to 14 world titles.

This was also the time when Christian Horner butted heads with a lot of the top bosses in the paddock. This included Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, with whom Horner had a lot of back-and-forths during the 2021 F1 season and even before and after that.

The former Red Bull boss has now been fired by the team, and there's no clarity over what his future is going to be. Talking to Sky Sports, Wolff was questioned if he would miss Horner, as he had been a permanent fixture on the paddock.

The Austrian joked that he wanted to check what he said, as Horner could return as someone on the FIA. He paid tribute to the Brit as he said,

"In a way yes. He was one of the main casts. I don't think he's gone forever, he could pop up in some other function. I need to be careful, he could rock up in the FIA then I'm really in the s***."

He added,

"He was someone that was controversial, polarizing and not soft-washed. That was good from the entertainment factor and from that perspective he will be missed. His track record speaks for itself."

Christian Horner didn't lose out because of Max Verstappen talking to Mercedes

There have been suggestions that Christian Horner could have potentially lost out because Max Verstappen had been dissuaded by what was going on within the team and hence talked to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The Austrian, however, claimed that this was not the case.

According to Toto, there are far more things going on in the background that played a role, as he said,

"No. There is much more in the background that we probably don't know with Red Bull. Looking after drivers, in my position as team principal of Mercedes, I need to explore what Max is going to do in the next few years, not only next year."

He added,

"I think drivers will always seek the quickest car, much more than any monetary incentives. It's about the quickest car and analyzing that. That's what Max and all the others will do."

It would be interesting to see what kind of role Christian Horner has if and when he comes back to the sport. One cannot deny the kind of impact he had on Red Bull, and his record means that he would certainly be someone that the teams would be keeping an eye on.