Karun Chandhok says Toto Wolff embarrassed Christian Horner during Red Bull ‘storm’

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The feud between team principals Christian Horner and Toto Wolff is one of the most well-established in Formula 1 since they went head-to-head for the 2021 title.

While Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battled for glory on track, there was just as much competition going on behind the scenes between the two team principals.

Since Mercedes has struggled for performance on track in the last two years and Red Bull went on a dominant run of wins, that has taken somewhat of a backseat while the Silver Arrows figure out how to get back to regularly winning races.

At the beginning of this year, during the height of the crisis that hit Red Bull and Horner, Wolff spotted an opportunity to reignite that rivalry by attempting to court Verstappen away from the defending champions.

One possibility was by Mercedes signing key Red Bull ally Helmut Marko, as a way to get the Verstappen camp to have interest in the possibility.

It is clear that there is some uncertainty over their plans for 2026 and while Verstappen is contracted until the end of the 2028 season, there are likely performance clauses tied to that which Red Bull must adhere to keep his services.

Discussing Wolff’s tactics in a column for The Intercooler, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes there is no love lost between the fierce rivals off-track.

Karun Chandhok believes Toto Wolff is ‘winding up’ Christian Horner

Verstappen has been Wolff’s top target since Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving the team to join Ferrari at the end of the season.

It is expected that Verstappen will stay in the team, even though there have been several high-level exits at Red Bull in recent months within their inner success circle.

Mercedes is banking on his increased distrust within the team, which was on full display at the recent Hungarian GP when Verstappen went on an expletive-ridden rant to engineer Giampiero Lambiase following a poor strategy.

Wolff reportedly offered Verstappen a deal that he denied Hamilton to persuade him to join the Silver Arrows, but Chandhok believes the Mercedes boss is effectively ‘winding up’ Horner.

“Wolff’s public courting of Verstappen will be winding up Horner and the team,” wrote Chandhok.

“Watching Jos Verstappen and Toto in deep conversation in Bahrain, in full view of the paddock at the front of the Mercedes motorhome while the storm was unfolding next door at Red Bull, was one of the most amusing things I’ve seen this year”

Toto Wolff would need deep pockets to sign Max Verstappen

Wolff would need to at least match Verstappen’s existing salary of £35 million per year, the second highest on the grid behind Lewis Hamilton.

While Hamilton leaving will free up funds, Mercedes could be forced to buy out Verstappen from his existing deal which runs until the end of the 2028 season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Verstappen reportedly has an exit clause in his contract if team advisor Helmut Marko leaves, or if Red Bull’s form drops in 2026.

Marc Priestley recently revealed that sources told him that Red Bull’s engine project with Ford could be in trouble, while Red Bull themselves have previously been critical of the 2026 regulations.