Toto Wolff and Christian Horner
Christian Horner needs to “work on the math” with Toto Wolff countering the Red Bull team boss’ claim he’s taken “220” people from Mercedes’ engine department over to Red Bull.
Zak Brown of McLaren and Horner engaged in a public exchange regarding personnel changes. Brown suggested that if Adrian Newey were to leave Red Bull, it would trigger a series of subsequent changes.
Toto Wolff: You got to work on the maths…
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Wolff has acknowledged the increase in CVs from Red Bull employees, adding that he has also noticed this trend. He responded by saying, “Zak is completely right, we are receiving CVs from Red Bull personnel across all levels.”
Horner did not appreciate their comments and fired back: “Mercedes, we’ve taken 220 people, 220, out of HPP into Red Bull Powertrains so when we talk about losing people I would be more worried about the 220 than one or two CVs.”
Nevertheless, his 220 appears to be significantly off target.
More on Toto Wolff and Christian Horner’s most recent exchange
Christian Horner issues Toto Wolff reminder: ‘We took 220’ staff members away from Mercedes
Christian Horner and Toto Wolff: A history of Formula 1’s odd couple
When questioned about the figure at Imola, Wolff responded to the media, including PlanetF1.com, by saying, “You need to calculate it correctly. There are 19 engineers involved.”
“I believe that there are inherent fluctuations among teams, and these variations are completely normal, regardless of the specific numbers involved.”
In my opinion, our engine department is operating at its highest potential under exceptional leadership.
HPP is an organization that I find flawlessly designed in terms of its organizational structure and the people I have the privilege of working with. I wouldn’t change a single aspect, not even by a millimeter.
Since 2014, they have been consistently delivering and have established themselves as the benchmark in their industry. This remains unchanged, even possibly with the inclusion of another engine.
“I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of 2026 when I will witness the diverse levels of performance exhibited by the power units.”
As Mercedes bid farewell to their chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino, Wolff made a remark about natural fluctuations. Meanwhile, Ferrari welcomed Loïc Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio, who had departed from Mercedes.
Read next: Toto Wolff explains Mercedes driver swap as George Russell finishes behind Lewis Hamilton
