Toto Wolff has accused his rival Christian Horner of using 'reverse psychology' as row surrounding Red Bull's cost cap continues. In recent weeks, Red Bull were found to have exceeded their budget after cost caps were brought in for the 2021 season.
Since then it has been established the Milton Keynes-based team's breach was only a minor one, and they still await their punishment from the sport's governing body the FIA. Amid the saga many within Formula 1 have accused Red Bull of cheating.
Team principal Horner however has seemingly rubbished those claims, labelling the cheat jibes as 'tremendously disappointing' ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.
Breaking his silence, he said: "It’s tremendously disappointing for a fellow competitor to accuse you of cheating. To accuse you of fraudulent activity is shocking, without the facts, without any knowledge of the detail.
"We have been on trial because of public accusations since Singapore. The rhetoric of ‘cheats’, the rhetoric that we have this enormous benefit. The damage that does to the brand, to our partners, to our drivers, to our workforce. In an age where mental health is prevalent we are seeing significant issues within our workforce.
"We are getting kids that are employees’ children bullied in playgrounds. That’s not right through fictitious allegations from other teams. You cannot go around making those kinds of allegations without any fact or substance. We are appalled at the behaviour of some of our competitors.”
His long-time Mercedes rival Wolff though is less than convinced, and seemingly believes Horner is playing the victim despite it being his team that broke the FIA ruling. Per Motorsport, the Austrian gave a sarcastic response when discussing Horner's recent comments.
What punishment do you think Red Bull should face? Let us know in the comments section below.
He said: "I almost had to wipe away a tear when I heard that. The fact is that nine of the 10 teams have stayed under the budget cap. The fact is that one team is now claiming to have exceeded it with alleged problems that are not performance related, but these apply to us as well.
"We too have been thinking about how many sandwiches we give people and how to overcome various financial hurdles. Whether they're over a million, two or five, it's a financial advantage that can translate into development. So it's a bit of reverse psychology: who is the victim here? I think it's the nine teams."
