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Mercedes and Red Bull bosses have agreed to bury the hatchet after their perennial feuding during the 2021 F1 season.
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Toto Wolff and Christian Horner both feel the teams need to move on from the rivalry that was tinged with bitterness, owing to the controversial end of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
When asked about the rivalry with Red Bull and what it meant for the Silver Arrows, Wolff said:
“It’s to be expected. It got fierce at times and brutal. But there’s a lot at stake. It’s a Formula 1 world championship, and there’s the fighting on track, and the fighting off track for advantages. So that’s okay. But we need to move on.”
The Mercedes team principal went on to add, saying:
“There’s been so much talk about Abu Dhabi, that it came to a point that it is really damaging for all of us stakeholders of F1, and we’ve closed the chapter and moved on. Now it’s about 2022, the game is on again, all points to zero, and new opportunity and new risk.”
Red Bull boss says Abu Dhabi feud with Mercedes 'done and dusted', focus now on 2022 F1 season
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also feels the end of the 2021 F1 season is best left in the rear-view mirror after claiming it was 'done and dusted'.
When asked for his thoughts on the rivalry with Mercedes and what it could hold going into the new campaign, Horner said:
“I think that maybe we share differences of opinion over Abu Dhabi, but that’s all done and dusted, and all focus is very much now on 2022. I think what you did see last year was a fantastic competition from the first race to the last race. I think that’s been a key part of Formula 1’s revival in popularity. It has been that competition, and so certainly we hope that there’s going to be an equally exciting year, although ideally a little less exciting at times.”
Mercedes were faster than Red Bull at the end of the first day of pre-season testing. That tide, however, could change by the time the lights go out in Bahrain for the season opener next month.
