Toto Wolff reveals funny Christian Horner text after Red Bull F1 exit

Toto Wolff has revealed that Christian Horner texted him following his Red Bull F1 departure.

Horner was sacked as Red Bull F1 team boss in July, ending his 20-year reign.

Horner had been instrumental to Red Bull’s success over the years, winning titles with Sebastian Vettel in the early 2010s.

More recently, Red Bull went head-to-head with Wolff’s Mercedes in 2021.

2021 is widely regarded as one of the most intense rivalries between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

Notably, Wolff and Horner locked horns on multiple occasions, and there’s been no love lost since.

Speaking to the Dutch press at Zandvoort on Saturday, Wolff revealed that Horner texted him.

Revealing what Horner texted, Wolff said: “He said to me: ‘What are you doing now, because you love to hate me and I’m gone!’”

Talking about Horner further, Wolff added: “It’s a bit ambivalent because, A, his track record is very good - one of the most successful in Formula 1. So, clearly there are things he’s done well. Within the team, I think he was to a certain degree, respected in Milton Keynes.

“But then we didn’t often have the same opinion or perspective. So, he’s been a wonderful, great enemy over the years. Am I missing him? It’s quite strange to come here and Christian’s not going to be around. I mean, what are you doing with him not around? That’s a bit weird.

“And then you have the pragmatism of Laurent Mekies. Suddenly you can have a conversation about the long term. We’re just totally different people, but even your biggest enemy is your best friend.”

F1 will miss Horner

Despite his rivalry with Horner over the years, Wolff conceded that F1 needs outspoken personalities.

“What I said is that every movie needs the good, the bad and the ugly. Now the bad is gone, it’s only Fred and I left... It took Fred a while to think about that,” Wolff explained.

“The sport needs that. In the past we had those massive characters and I hope that some of the new team principals are going to grow into these roles in an authentic way, because you can’t fake it.

“Christian was one of those protagonists. He was outspoken, he was controversial, he was an ass, and he loved to play that role. You need an asshole, people need to hate someone.”