Toto Wolff reveals stance on booing of F1 rival Christian Horner

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has swerved criticising fans for booing Red Bull team principal Christian Horner at F1’s season launch event in London.

Last week’s first-of-its-kind F1 75 season launch event at the O2 Arena was overshadowed by sections of the crowd jeering Red Bull duo Horner and reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

While the reception Verstappen received was less audible, most of the sold-out arena could be heard jeering Horner when the Red Bull team boss took to the stage to address the crowd.

Verstappen has threatened to boycott future launch events if they are held in the UK, according to his father Jos.

When asked for his thoughts on the matter ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Wolff refused to call out the booing of Horner.

“I don’t think that Max was booed and we shouldn’t talk an event down that was mega just because one single individual was rightly or wrongly booed when he spoke,” Wolff told Sky Sports in Bahrain.

“It was a great event. The spectators there were great. The presentation of the cars was good and it sets a new format for the years to come and that is the new positive we need to take from that.”

Asked if he was among those booing, Wolff replied: “No! I wasn’t booing. There was 15,000 people that did that. It wasn’t necessary that I did.”

Wolff and Horner have regularly engaged in a long-standing feud during their respective team’s rivalry, with the Austrian calling his Red Bull counterpart a “yapping little terrier” at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.

'Tribalist’ reaction to Red Bull pair called out

F1’s governing body the FIA took the unusual step of getting involved by condemning the reaction to the Red Bull duo at the event, describing it as “tribalist”.

"Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans," an FIA spokesperson said.

"But what underpins sport at all levels is a culture of respect. As such, it was disappointing to hear the crowd's tribalist reaction to FIA Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner, at the F1 launch in London.

"Max and Christian have both contributed greatly to the sport we love. In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that.

"As part of the FIA's commitment to protect the integrity of the sport, we are leading a coalition tackling online abuse in sport under the banner of our United Against Online Abuse campaign.

"We stand with all of our competitors, officials, volunteers, and fans to unite against this growing threat. We urge the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions both online and offline."