Guenther Steiner explains why Christian Horner was more ‘annoying’ than Toto Wolff amid Red Bull dominance

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Christian Horner has seen Red Bull fall from their dominant perch this season. They started the year with the kind of margin they had enjoyed for their entire 2023 campaign.

Max Verstappen crushed the field in their first two races, leading home teammate Sergio Perez. A mechanical retirement at the Australian GP was all that prevented him from winning five in a row to begin the year.

But then their rivals finally closed the gap. McLaren scored their first victory since 2021 in Miami, while Ferrari opened their 2024 account in Monaco.

Mercedes were last to become contenders, but they managed to win three of the last four before the summer break. In the meantime, Red Bull were losing their way.

Verstappen was starting to complain, like Perez had for around a year, that the car was difficult to drive. The team are now enduring an eight-race winless run and have only scored three podiums in that time.

Red Bull surrendered the lead of the constructors’ championship to McLaren in Azerbaijan and have already fallen 41 points behind. They could soon drop to third, with Ferrari just 34 adrift.

Guenther Steiner says Christian Horner brings more ‘drama’ than Toto Wolff

Speaking on the Red Flags Podcast, former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner shared why Horner was somewhat ‘annoying’ during Red Bull’s supremacy in 2022 and 2023. The Bulls put together the most one-sided season in F1 history last year.

Steiner still felt there was too much ‘drama’ in their camp, with Horner the face of it. And that has certainly continued this year.

Horner has been involved in a power struggle with Helmut Marko, potentially contributing to the departure of numerous big names. Legendary designer Adrian Newey has led the exodus, with sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and strategy chief Will Courtenay following him.

Red Bull dethroned Mercedes in 2022, ending their run of eight straight constructors’ titles. But Steiner feels the reign of Toto Wolff was far more peaceful.

“Who was more annoying on top?” he said. “I would say Christian because he came with too much drama. You know, there was never really any drama with Toto. It was just like ‘we are winning because we are the best’, you know.”

When Christian Horner ‘slapped Helmut Marko’s leg’ over Daniel Ricciardo comment

Horner will be the centre of attention on media day at the United States Grand Prix next month. That’s after he and the rest of the Red Bull leadership made the decision to axe Daniel Ricciardo and bring in Liam Lawson for the final six races.

The team principal has been a consistent supporter of the Australian but the pro-Lawson camp grew too strong. Marko was determined to move on from Ricciardo.

Back in 2018, an exasperated Horner reportedly slapped Marko’s leg for a comment he made to Ricciardo and his team. The executive director laid out his plan to win the title with teammate Verstappen in 2019 and 2020.

The Dutchman himself may leave in the next 18 months as he grows frustrated with the team’s trajectory. Horner has now begun courting George Russell, much to the annoyance of longtime rival Wolff.