Horner taking Wolff gibes 'with a pinch of salt'

Christian Horner says he was "quite flattered" to be called a "protagonist in a pantomime" by his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff but insists he's taking the latter's gibes "with a pinch of salt".

Horner and Wolff have engaged in a periodic war of words this season against the backdrop of their respective teams intensely battling for the world title.

The rhetoric between the pair ramped following Red Bull's flexible rear-wing controversy just before the summer and continued in the wake of the high profile crash at Silverstone between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with Horner highly critical of the latter's driving.

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Wolff took aim at his Red Bull rival, calling Horner "one of the protagonists in a pantomime", a jeer the Briton actually took as a compliment.

"We all know Toto has a lot to say," commented Horner on Friday in Mexico City.

"I was quite flattered actually. Being called the protagonist, if you look up what the definition of that means, I think you also need an antagonist to have a protagonist.

"One could say that perhaps Toto fills that role pretty well, or if it were a pantomime, maybe the pantomime dame role might suit him.

“But look, it’s all about what goes on on-track, and I think that it’s a great competition between the teams.

"It’s no holds barred, it’s pit wall going against pit wall, drivers against drivers, engine suppliers against engine suppliers, chassis against chassis, and it’s fantastic.

"We’re loving it, and occasionally, you’re going to get some flack thrown at you. But I take it with a pinch of salt, and sometimes, even as a compliment."

However, Horner was less impressed with Wolff's comments on the ongoing cut-throat battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, a fight that will likely be resolved by another on-track clash between the two championships contenders, like in the days of Senna and Prost, according to the Mercedes boss.

"I was disappointed to read the comments," said Horner.

"I think we want a really fair fight between now and the end of the championship, and I think any driver would want to win the championship on track.

"We're a team of racers. If we can pull off this feat, and it's a massive, massive task, then we wouldn't want to win a championship through a collision between the drivers. There's been enough of those this year already.

"I think what we saw in Austin was a great fight between two drivers very much at the top of their game, and [with] a few more races like Austin between now and the end of the year, I think the biggest winner would be Formula 1.

"Nobody wants to see a championship decided in a gravel trap."

• Red also: Wolff expects more 'Senna-Prost' antics between Max and Lewis

Horner made clear that he has no personal issue with Wolff, despite the reciprocal swipes, but insists Red Bull is facing its title challenge head on, and won't just roll over and accept Mercedes' supremacy.

"I have no issue with Toto, I think he’s done a great job there, in a team that he inherited," Horner said.

"Of course there is respect. Mercedes are a phenomenal team. They’ve achieved great things, and there is of course a respect between the two teams.

"But it’s a competition. You can’t just accept, if we roll over and accept Mercedes win every race, it’s pretty boring, and why do we turn up? We’re here to go racing, we want to take the challenge, we’ve been fighting to get into this position to take the fight to Mercedes for seven long seasons now.

"We’ve got ourselves into a competitive position. We want to make sure that we do our very, very best to convert this between now and the end of the year.

"It will be by far our biggest achievement in Formula 1 if we manage to do that in either of the championships."

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