RaceFans has reported:

Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has taken another swipe at his former rival Toto Wolff, recalling that Wolff predicted Red Bull’s power unit would be “completely s***”. Horner founded Red Bull’s engine programme after Honda, its former supplier, announced it would withdraw as a manufacturer at the end of 2021. Honda returned this year with Aston Martin, while Mercedes consistently refused to supply engines to Red Bull.

Horner said McLaren chief executive Zak Brown was unable to put pressure on Wolff because McLaren uses Mercedes engines. Brown’s team won the last two constructors’ titles. “Toto’s got it quite easy at the moment,” Horner said. “Zak Brown is compromised because he’s using Toto’s engine so he can’t ruffle feathers.”

He said rivalry helps motivate teams and cited football managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, as well as José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. “All sport needs rivalry, whether it’s Ferguson and Wenger, Mourinho and Guardiola. It percolates and polarises. I used that to galvanise good people to take on Mercedes.”

Horner has given several interviews recently while promoting a forthcoming book. He also addressed comments about wanting to run Ferrari’s Formula One team, saying they had been misinterpreted. Ferrari is led by Fred Vasseur, whom Horner described as experienced and as having done a decent job.

“Fred Vasseur is an experienced guy,” Horner said. “He’s done a decent job. But I, more than anyone, know the pressures of running a competitive organisation. My comments got taken out of context.”

The remarks add to Horner’s recent public comments about his former rivals and the pressures of running a competitive team. He founded Red Bull’s power unit programme following Honda’s announced departure, and the team went on to challenge Mercedes using its own programme. Horner’s comments on Brown came as McLaren, powered by Mercedes engines, held the constructors’ title for a second consecutive season.