After complaints from Mercedes drivers about the W13's strong rattle, Red Bull boss Christian Horner criticized what he called "crying" and suggested a solution to the German team
The fight between Mercedes and Red Bull last year ended with a happy ending for the Taurinos, who won the World Drivers' Championship and ended a seven-year streak of only Silver Arrow champions. In 2022, the fight against Ferrari for the title no longer involves the German team - clearly below its rivals - but Christian Horner is not letting the atmosphere cool down between the garages. After the Azerbaijan GP last Sunday, the Briton once again provoked Toto Wolff's team.
With Lewis Hamilton suffering with back pain and even feeling difficulties to leave the car and George Russell also complaining a lot about the effect of the quique on the drivers' bodies, the Red Bull boss fired harsh words at what he considered "crying" from the German team. "Tell them to cry all they want over the radio and turn the problem into something bigger as much as they can. It's part of the game," Horner said.
While Russell argued that the rules should allow for a change before the problem affects the drivers' health, Hamilton was caught on camera having extreme difficulty leaving W13 due to severe back pain - and even had his presence questioned at the next race. However, in Horner's opinion, Mercedes is strategically drawing attention to the situation.
"Of course they are," he opined. "Look, it's uncomfortable, but there are solutions to that - only they would be detrimental to the performance of the car. What's the easiest thing to do? Complain about a safety issue, but every team has a choice," he explained.
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"If it was a genuine safety concern across the grid, then it would be something that should be looked at," he claimed. "But if it's affecting isolated individuals or teams, then it's something that the team potentially should deal with," he stressed.
Horner even 'suggested' a change in the Mercedes car that could lessen the strong ticks - but that would hurt the car's performance. Taking advantage of the rivals' complaints, the Briton teased and said that the German team should not use the car in unsafe conditions, as their drivers claim - and did not fail to give a pinprick at the end.
"They can always use a bigger board [on the bottom of the car] if they want," he continued. "The easiest thing is obviously to increase [the height] of the car, so the team has that option. You have a choice about how you use the car and you should never use a single-seater that is unsafe," he said.
"But I think that's more for the technical guys, because there are certain cars that have a lot of problems and other cars with very few problems," he argued. "It seems unfair to me to penalize those who did a good job against those who maybe missed the mark a little bit," he closed.