Don Kennedy: Team principal clashes part of business of F1

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has had to defend his team from criticism by his colleagues. Photo / Don Kennedy

Normally December is a quiet time for F1, as drivers and team personnel go off for a well-earned holiday after a record 22-race season. But someone forgot to tell some team bosses it is not the time for change or movement. Unlike some of the drivers who might exchange Christmas greetings, or even the odd present or two, it’s unlikely that the team principals will follow suit. Prior to the last race in Abu Dahai, all twenty drivers attended a dinner to honour the retirement of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who called time on his F1 career after 15 years. But when Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto resigned after his team had finished a distant second to Red Bull in the Constructors’ championship, there was no suggestion his colleagues might get together to celebrate Binotto’s 27 years at Ferrari, including three years as team principal. There is little love lost between team bosses. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Red Bull boss Christian Wolff have been at loggerheads for a number of years, but especially since Wolff considered that his team, and driver Lewis Hamilton, had been “robbed” of the championship in Abu Dhabi in 2021 when race director Michael Masi allowed racing on the last lap instead of having it finish under safety car conditions, which would have seen Hamilton crowned as an eight-time champion. Instead, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had his first title. How the decision made by an FIA employee could be blamed on Horner is anyone’s guess, but Wolff was looking for a scapegoat.

Their disagreements probably began at Silverstone in 2021, when Hamilton was under investigation for punting Verstappen off into the barrier at Copse Corner at around 170mph. Verstappen was taken to hospital and Hamilton eventually received a 10-second time penalty, but still won the race. Horner became aware that Wolff was lobbying race director Masi by a direct channel.

“I never had a one-to-one channel, it had always been sent through our team manager,” Horner recalled. “And then it really permeated at Silverstone where, suddenly, there was an awful lot of dialogue suddenly from Toto to Michael, and then he’s sending him an email, and then he’s coming up [to race control]. And I thought, ‘Right, okay, I’m not having that, I’m going up’. Because I felt it was incredibly one-sided that a team principal should not be able to lobby and influence the race director and, with hindsight, Toto and I had a fairly heated exchange in race control at that event, where Toto was obviously arguing his corner that his driver shouldn’t be penalised, and I’ve got a driver in hospital and a car take out of the race, [which] I was obviously feeling pretty aggrieved by.”

On reflection, Horner says he can understand that Wolff felt threatened by Red Bull.

“I think that we’re in such a competitive sport, such a competitive business, and there was a huge amount going on on-track. And then there was a lot going off-track as we were stabilising Red Bull Powertrains, and [...] Toto, I think, has always seen Red Bull as a threat, because it’s a team that he’s not ever managed to have a control or an input into, and so we’ve always been a bit of a maverick.”

In the aftermath of Abu Dhabi in 2021, when both Wolff and Horner were trying to influence Masi in respect of the safety car situation, the FIA subsequently banned teams from having any direct communication with race control.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says conflict with other teams is part of the business. Photo / Don Kennedy

This year, with Red Bull the dominant team, clashes between Horner and Wolff were less frequent, but in Canada they had another fiery exchange when Wolff was lobbying the FIA to change the rules regarding ride height in light of the porpoising many of the cars experienced, with Mercedes most affected, because their cars were too close to the ground. Mercedes cited safety, and eventually the FIA agreed. Horner protested that it was unfair to change the rules to suit one team. Binotto agreed with Horner. Reports on the exchange between Horner and Wolff varied, but it’s fair to say it was lively and vigorous, according to those who witnessed it.

Horner once told Sky Sports his clashes with Wolff were “not personal at all!”

“Toto is Toto. He’s done a phenomenal job with Mercedes. He’s obviously come into the sport from a very different background to me - he’s very much from a financial background. And it’s very easy to pull his chain, and you can see it. Sometimes it affects him. So, of course, when you’re competing, and last year was so intense - and, of course, it was the first time he’d ever been in that situation. It’s always interesting to see how people react.”

Wolff says political clashes are part of the F1 business.

“It’s about protecting your own structure, and I think we all do that, trying to stay ahead or to protect, or in a way, to understand where the politics go,” Wolff told Autosport.

“I think its pretty normal. I don’t think there were any more games or less games. Everybody kind of lives to their own standards. I think it was pretty much business as usual, I would say.”

Red Bull got into trouble this year when it was found guilty of exceeding the cost cap by £1.7 million - it was fined for £7m by the FIA and will lose 10 per cent of tunnel testing time in 2023. McLaren boss Zak Brown pulled no punches. He wrote a letter to the FIA stating that the “overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations”.

Horner, in the same press conference where Brown confirmed he had sent the letter, said he was “appalled” at the action of a team’s rival. But Brown didn’t back down.

“I stand by my letter,” he told Motorsport.com. “I think when you break the rules, whether it’s technical and financial, there are many different ways to characterise it.

“I know it’s such a strong word, but I don’t see any difference between breaking the financial gap versus having too low of a ride height, or whatever the case may be.”

There will be several changes in terms of team principals next year. Binotto will be replaced by Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur from January 9, 2023, a move that Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle has questioned.

“I’m not quite sure why Ferrari would choose now to have a month without a boss,” Brundle noted. “If I was Mercedes or Red Bull right now, I’d be smiling, because continuity is everything. As Formula 1 seasons get longer and more intense, you have to be careful of these sea changes of personnel.”

“It’s such a fundamental change, and it will destabilise them in the short-term - it has to. Everybody will be slightly off-balance thinking [about] where they stand and what’s next. They’ll be in limbo.”

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher thinks Vasseur’s move to Ferrari will work as he has the right temperament for the Ferrari job.

“He has a broad back, is financially absolutely independent and hard-nosed with his decisions,” Schumacher said. ‘He will definitely take some confidants from Sauber to Ferrari, because there will also be some restructuring there.”

Vassuer has a great relationship with Charles Leclerc, who often had differences of opinion with Binotto, so Vassuer joining Ferrari will probably suit Leclerc more than it will his teammate, Carlos Sainz, of whom Binotto was a fan.

The other big team personnel change is Andreas Seidl moving from McLaren to Sauber, given he still had three years to go on his contract. Brown says they didn’t try to block the move because they have a great relationship.

“I know a lot of teams play the gardening leave card, but I think we’ve demonstrated at McLaren there are ways to dissolve relationships, whether that’s with racing drivers or employees, where you can do things on very workable terms for everyone.”

In terms of drivers, he probably meant sorting out Daniel Ricciardo’s contract so he could replace him with Oscar Piastro. Seidl will be replaced by Andrea Stella, who Brown expects to pick up the baton. Meanwhile, Seidl will not be the Sauber team principal, but it’s a long-term position for Audi’s takeover of the team in 2026. Seidl had experience with the Volkswagon Group in running Porsche’s successful World Endurance Championship team.

Team principals can make a huge difference to a team’s fortunes. Wollf successfully led Mercedes to win eight consecutive Constructors’ championships. Horner led Red Bull to four consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013, and may be on the start of another roll. But with McLaren looking for its first Constructors’ title since 1998 and Ferrari its first since 2008, you can expect more fireworks between the respective team principals in 2023. All part of the business, apparently.

We wish our readers a merry Christmas and hope to bring you reports on another exciting and intriguing season in 2023. F1 has never been more popular, and with Spark Sport pulling out in June next year, F1 will need to find a new viewing home.