"Yapping little terrier, always something to say": Mercedes boss Toto Wolff blasts Red Bull team boss for his 'hysteric' remark about George Russell
aMercedes team principal Toto Wolff did not hold back on his comments while targeting Red Bull team principal Christian Horner for his remarks about George Russell at the end of the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was least impressed by Russell's antics in the stewards' room last Saturday night after the qualifying session.
The Dutch driver heavily criticized the Brit's behavior and claimed that he "lost all respect" for his fellow F1 driver. Horner defended his charge's comments and remarked that the Mercedes driver was "hysterical the entire weekend" in Lusail.
Speaking to the media including Sportskeeda ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Wolff was furious with Horner's choice of words regarding George Russell and gave his unfiltered response. He said:
“Why does he feel entitled to comment about my driver? How does that come? But thinking about it, I’ve spent 90 seconds to think about it… Yapping little terrier. Always something to say. "
The Austrian further added that he was puzzled by Horner commenting on George Russell as he believed that the Red Bull team principal should not be involved in the argument between two drivers :
"There is a thing between drivers, and this is George and Max, and I don’t want to get involved in that, but if the other team principal calls George hysteric, this is where he crosses a line for me. Now, his [Horner’s] forte for sure is not intellectual psychoanalysis, but that’s quite a word. How dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver.”
Max Verstappen reiterates his comments on George Russell in Abu Dhabi
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that he did not regret his comments about Mercedes driver George Russell and believed that he could have spoken a bit more on the subject.
In his pre-race press conference, the four-time F1 world champion reflected that he was still in disbelief regarding Russell's behavior and claimed:
"For me, that was so unacceptable, because I mean, we're all racing drivers. We all have a lot of respect for each other. We even play sports together. You travel together. And of course, you have moments where you get together, you crash, or whatever.
"You're not happy. In my whole career, I've never experienced what I have experienced in the Stewards’ room in Qatar. And for me, that was really unacceptable."
George Russell was also unfiltered in his reply to the Dutchman's complaints regarding him and termed the latter as a "bully" citing previous instances. He claimed that the world champion was out of line and he would not accept his behavior and believed that someone had to stand up to Max Verstappen regarding his approach on and off the track.