11/12/2021
NEWS STORY
Christian Horner accuses Mercedes of an orchestrated media campaign to paint Max Verstappen as F1's bad boy.
On a day Talksport ran an article entitled 'The chequered life of the man who created the most dangerous racer in F1', Christian Horner claimed that Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have used the media to taint Max Verstappen in the eye of the public - and officials - and thereby apply additional pressure to the youngster.
"Lewis is a seven-time world champion," said Horner, "he's the most successful driver of all time, he has a standing obviously within the sport and what he says carries a lot of weight.
"I think he has used every tool available to him to put Max under pressure this year," he continued. "He's a competitive animal, you don't become a seven-time world champion by not being a competitor like he is.
"Yes, I believe, and backed up by the Mercedes media machine, a huge amount of pressure has been placed on Max," he insisted.
"What you've got to remember with Max is he's just a young lad," said the Briton. "He's a 24-year-old that drives with bravery, with passion, with skill, with determination. He's just a guy living his dream, doing his job, and he's up against not only Lewis but a huge machine in Mercedes-Benz.
"I think all credit to him the way he's handled that pressure this year and hasn't been drawn into it, hasn't been sucked into it, he's just gone about his business and he hasn't changed from Bahrain to Saudi, his approach or how he goes racing."
Taking a lead out of Mercedes book, Wolff claims four-time champions Red Bull to be the underdog.
"If you think of the size of Mercedes globally they must be one of the biggest automotive companies in the world," he said. "The power that they wield with media around the world, I think we pale into insignificance in comparison. As Lewis Hamilton indeed called us, we're just an energy drinks company going racing.
"So no, I think that Mercedes, Mercedes Formula 1 team, have become a machine over the last seven or eight years during their period of dominance and obviously have the weight and power of the parent company behind them.
"I can't believe it's particularly comfortable being beaten by an energy drinks manufacturer as a major OEM. That's never sat comfortably, we know that, it's been made quite clear to us.
"We're a team of racers, we're going racing, we've got a phenomenal driver who has driven his heart out this year, and it's been intense on track and off track.
"I do think that the spotlight, even the narrative of this last week of this 'Mad Max' scenario, calling him crazy, there's been a very clear narrative."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Yas Marina, here.