Horner mocks Wolff by revealing shocking number of poached employees at Mercedes

Christian Horner hit back at Zak Brown and Toto Wolff after both men told media including RacingNews365 they had both seen an increase in Red Bull employees sending CVs to their respective teams.

The Red Bull team principal in particular took particular exception to Wolff’s comments, choosing to respond directly with the number of employees Red Bull removed from Mercedes ahead of the launch of its first powertrain in 2026.

It all started when the McLaren Racing CEO took a few jabs at Horner at the Miami Grand Prix, saying there were “CVs flying” and that he had seen an increase in CVs coming from the team. The Mercedes boss agrees, adding: “Zak is absolutely right, we are seeing Red Bull CVs at all levels.”

However, Horner argued that CVs do not fly one way. Further still, the 50-year-old then revealed the specific number of employees Red Bull has recruited from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP).

“I don’t know how many people we have employed at McLaren this year, or how many people (RB) has employed, but at Mercedes we have taken 220 people from HPP to join them at Red Bull Powertrains,” he said. he declares. ask by RacingNews365 for his response to the remarks made by Brown and Wolff.

“So when we talk about losing people, I would be a little more worried about the 220 people than I would be about one or two resumes.”

“I’m not going to get dragged into a tit-for-tat situation.”

The topic was amplified during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, following Adrian Newey’s surprise departure from Red Bull after nearly two decades with the team. Although the 65-year-old will stay on until early 2025, he will no longer work on F1 development.

It also sparked speculation that this could trigger a mass exodus from the team, with the uncertainty his departure could bring.

However, for Horner this is not a cause for concern, emphasizing that there will always be people moving around the paddock. Nor was he surprised by the tactics employed by Brown and Wolff.

“I think it’s inevitable, I think the two (team leaders) involved talk a lot. And I’m not going to get dragged into a tit for tat,” he said, before s take it out on the Mercedes team director. .

“But I would be more focused on Toto’s own problems than him, and I have no concerns with (Red Bull’s) strength and depth, there will always be movement between the teams.”