Christian Horner rubbished Toto Wolff's claim that the Red Bull boss is calling into question F1's 2026 engine regulations because he is worried by the development and progress of his own power unit.
In Austria last weekend, Horner expressed his fears that the sport's next set of regulations could create a "technical Frankenstein" in F1, or a blend of chassis and power unit characteristics that could undermine the show on the track.
Formula 1's next-generation PUs will evenly divide the power generated by the internal combustion engine and the increased battery and hybrid system.
However, according to Horner worries have surfaced regarding the risk of drivers experiencing battery depletion halfway through a lap or having to perform unconventional actions, like downshifting on a straight.
Wolff suggested that his Red Bull colleague was perhaps first and foremost defending his own competitive interest.
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"I think what frightens him more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along, and then maybe he wants to kill it [with the rules] that way.
"So, you always have to question what's the real motivation to say something like that."
©RedBull
Horner was unsurprisingly unimpressed with Wolff's remarks, and insists his primary focus is on preventing any mistakes in the finalization of the 2026 rules package.
"Unfortunately, that's typically Toto, where he's just focused on self-performance," said Horner. "My interest is actually about the sport rather than self-gain.
"It is still way too early to say who's going to have a competitive or uncompetitive engine in 2026.
"For me, the most important thing is, from a sports point of view, that we all have a collective responsibility to work with the FIA and the commercial rights holder, to ensure that the product is as good as it can be. Otherwise, we've all failed."
As teams and engine manufacturers research the sport's future rules, everyone is gaining a better understanding of the new regulation platform and of their implications.
"The regulations are a hybrid of what was originally intended," added Horner. "Of course, it's only as you work through a set of regulations that you find out where their limitations are.
"I think the FIA are being very responsible in terms of doing their due diligence. And, I think, certain teams share very similar opinions on that."
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