After Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari opened a seat in Mercedes in 2025, rumors of Max Verstappen‘s potential move to the team swirled. This has taken a new turn, as Toto Wolff‘s revelation of a conversation with Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, saw a brutal jab being taken at Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

In an interview with Mirror, Toto Wolff said, “Jos knows more about racing than I do, and what about Max. Maybe I know a bit more about running an organisation again. It’s unfortunate that there were those moments of rivalry, but maybe they would have acted that way too if they were in my position and I will always defend my own driver.”

Wolff referred to Christian Horner’s scandal with a former Red Bull employee that has long sparked rumors of internal turmoil. With this, Wolff seems to have taken a direct shot at the problems that seem to be within Red Bull Racing off the track. 

Toto Wolff makes a sly jab at Christian Horner’s team management

Amidst the conversation about Max Verstappen’s potential move to Mercedes, Wolff compared his ability to manage a team with rival boss Christian Horner. He emphasized the fact that his ability to run an organization, combined with Max Verstappen’s sheer skill in the car would be a terrifying prospect for other teams.

In the process, however, Wolff seems to have questioned Horner’s management of Red Bull lately. Issues within the Red Bull paddock have been the center of the rumor mill for quite some time now. Whether it is about Helmut Marko supposedly being ousted from the team or the possibility of Horner being sacked as Team Principal.

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner’s rivalry is something most F1 fans are quite familiar with. In the last decade, both have talked about their rivalry time and again. This time, it was Wolff firing the shots, targeting the management issues that, on occasion, overshadow just how good Verstappen is.

Amidst this, Verstappen continues his dominance in the sport, scoring two wins in the first two races. As the Dutchman reiterates his focus on driving time and again, it is interesting to think what Wolff and Verstappen’s combination can accomplish. Both are part of mammoth eras in the sport. Additionally, with Hamilton’s seat being empty next year, speculation on Verstappen potentially taking the spot materializes often.

READ MORE: F1 Rumor: Max Verstappen’s Mercedes Move in Talks as Toto Wolff Reveals: “Max, Jos and I Have Talked About It and Everything Has Been Pronounced”