Christian Horner has criticized Toto Wolff for Mercedes’ performance in 2024 in light of his most recent remarks on Max Verstappen.

Christian Horner has responded vehemently to Toto Wolff’s suggestion that Max Verstappen might be persuaded to leave Mercedes, the leading team in Formula One.

In the end, Verstappen finished more over 13 seconds ahead of Lando Norris, securing his fourth Formula One victory of the year.

Although Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull extends until 2028, so his immediate F1 career is safe, there are still rumors circulating about him perhaps switching to Mercedes.

Wolff said following the race in China that Red Bull’s performance in 2024 wouldn’t be sufficient to retain the Dutchman.

When asked about Wolff’s most recent comments, Horner made it obvious that the Red Bull CEO was displeased.

He said, “I’m going to consider carefully what I say here.

Have you discussed this with Max? As Max tells you, it’s not about paper documents at the end of the day—we know he has a contract that expires in 2028—but rather about how he feels about the team, his relationship with them, and how well he’s performing.

“I don’t think Toto’s drivers are the cause of his troubles; I believe he should be concentrating on other things instead of his unavailable drivers.

“I’m not sure how many times he has to say that. He repeated it multiple times.

I won’t be sucked into it because I believe that sometimes it’s just meant to make noise.

With their most recent victory, Red Bull has surpassed Mercedes in the record for most victories (117 to 116) in the contemporary era.

Then Horner took a swipe at Mercedes for being behind two of its customer teams (Aston Martin and McLaren) in terms of performance.

In the second jab, Horner brought up George Russell and the possibility that he may want to leave when his contract expires in 2026.

“We surpassed Mercedes’s total number of victories in the contemporary period today, indicating that the team is performing well.

Given this, Horner asked, “What could possibly make you want to quit this team?”

Mercedes is currently the third team behind its customers,

so maybe he should be spending more time concentrating on the team rather than the driver market.

“Have you all heard that George Russell’s contract expires at the end of 25? The market fluctuates, so who knows? Maybe he won’t be all that eager to stay in 26.

Horner isn’t going to give up on Verstappen appearing in a Red Bull in 2025.

“I can guarantee you that Max Verstappen’s whereabouts are clear for the upcoming season,” he said.