Red Bull boss, Christian Horner has said he feels it wrong for Toto Wolff to publicly criticise his own team.

Following a nightmare Grand Prix in Baku which saw Lewis Hamilton miss a sure-fire podium with the flick of a magic switch, and Valtteri Bottas struggle home a distant 12th, Wolff was quick to criticise the team's performance.

He claimed that the poor pace throughout the Baku weekend, coupled with the errant wheel nut in Monaco that ended Bottas' hopes of a podium, was not acceptable.

"There's lots of things that are not running smoothly as they have in the past few years," said the Austrian on Sunday. "Operationally we are not at our A-game.

"There's so much that we need to improve," he added, "that I just want to get on it right now, in order to make sure that we are actually able to compete for this championship. You can't continue losing points, like we've done in Monaco and here. It is just not acceptable for all of us.

"It's just not acceptable that we are not getting the car into a performant position after the start, or out of the pit stops. It's just we're losing seconds over seconds."

"A lot has been made of Toto's comments this weekend," said Horner at race end on Sunday. "He's never afraid to roast his team publicly, which I disagree with, but that's his prerogative."

Earlier in the weekend, Horner had taken aim at Wolff, who has been leading the field in terms of questioning the legality of the Red Bull's rear wing.

Suggesting that the front wing on the Mercedes is equally suspect, Horner said: "I think if I was Toto, with the front wing he has got on his car I would keep my mouth shut," quipped Horner in Baku."

Told of Horner's quip, Wolff responded: "Christian is a bit of a windbag who wants to be on camera," responded the Austrian. "It's easy to be punchy when you're on the top of the times sheets but you should be a little bit more modest."

Red Bull appeared to have the last laugh however, as on Sunday, following Sergio Perez' win, the team tweeted a picture of the Mexican celebrating with his team.

"That's the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the (wind) bag," read the accompanying comment.

One gets the feeling that this one is going to run and run.

Indeed, speaking at the post qualifying press conference, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen suggested their bosses should settle it all in ther boxing ring.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 11/06/2021 1:16

"@ GWS...Who has won every WC since the inception of these new PU's? I had no choice but to see what I didn't want to see!!!"

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2. Posted by Great_white_shark, 10/06/2021 19:21

""first time Mercedes have competition". These fans are forgetting 2017 and 2018 when they were losing to Ferrari up until shutdown. They choose to see what they want to see as per usual. "

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3. Posted by kenji, 09/06/2021 23:15

"@ Superbird70...empty threats really are 'cryin Wollf' once to often. "

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4. Posted by Superbird70, 09/06/2021 20:14

"So what happened to the floppy wing protest? Physics would dictate that whine or lose the wings should still be bending, if they were bending to begin with."

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5. Posted by F1nerd, 09/06/2021 15:03

"What happened to that "We win & lose together"."

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6. Posted by kenji, 09/06/2021 10:37

"It was Wolff who universally proscribed his 'no blame culture' as the dominating factor in running the Mercedes F1 team. His apportion of blame publicly on Bottas for the fouled up 'wheel nut' says otherwise. I see that only now he's admitted that Bottas didn't miss his marks so he's now been forced into an embarrassing backdown. Now he's dissing on the entire team!! Wow, there's some hypocrisy there. If only he could determine the origin/ownership of that 'errant finger problem' that ruined his 'Baku Snafu' he could heap more blame on that as well. It's hilarious ,however all will be back to normal when we race at the RBR in a little over one weeks time. "

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7. Posted by F1F@N, 09/06/2021 10:04

"Mercedes are starting to make mistakes because they cannot handle pressure. They never had real pressure and therefor did not learn to cope with it. Horner was right to point back at mercedes wings as they look suspect under pressure as well. It seems Toto wants to play off track games rather than concentrate on the racing part of F1. Come now Toto. Be a man and grow a pair. RBR is winning because you are crumbling like a cookie. "

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8. Posted by aroutis, 09/06/2021 4:27

"This whole animosity between RBR and Merc is fueled by the whole flex wing saga, which in turn has to do with the pressure mercedes is getting from RBR.
In short, Merc is unfamiliar with getting pressured from teams and when they do they resort to "they have to be cheating" tactics.

It's time to feel the heat. And if they are indeed the winning team they claim to be, let them prove it without resorting to legalities and trying to take other teams' advantages.
Put up or shut up. "

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9. Posted by Tardis40, 09/06/2021 3:09

"Keep needling him Christian"

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10. Posted by kenji, 09/06/2021 0:40

"Having dominated F1 for the last seven years the entire Mercedes shebang has exuded a particular brand of arrogance. Wolff's swagger is anathema to the brash go getters based at Red Bull. For the last seven years the Red Bullers have thrown what ever they could muster at Mercedes but they failed to burst the bubble. Now they seem to be closer [ chasing that elusive cigar ] to Mercedes than ever before and the pent up acrimony is surfacing by way of accusations and taunts. Back to the schoolyard it seems and we as fans should relish the thoughts of ongoing drama between the two teams. RB sniff a chance at toppling the juggernaut and that can only add a touch of spice.....and Mercedes are not handling it at all well. 'Still we rise'...What goes up inevitably comers down."

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11. Posted by Rock Doc, 08/06/2021 17:33

"The Red Bull is fast but not the fastest car that is still the Merc. On the street circuits it's been fast and drivable. The Mercs have more power it's just that the car this year seems to be less drivable.

Perhaps the Mercs have always been making these mistakes it's just that they have usually been so far ahead it hasn't had a big impact. Now they have a genuine competition that is on par with them we are beginning to see the cracks.

This year we have seen Hamilton make a number of mistakes now and he has been beaten into the corner by his rival twice. Not having the car advantage he has enjoyed in previous years we are beginning to see these creep in.

The banter is all part of the season and I'd expect nothing less with the teams being so close. It adds to the fun and some what makes up for the lack of action on the track at times. At the moment I would say that RB are winning both on the track and off. But it could all change at the next race."

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12. Posted by Spindoctor, 08/06/2021 16:49

"What's with Horner at present?
He's got by far the fastest, most driveable car, a couple of excellent drivers & every chance of winning both Championships ahead of the Big Rule Change, yet he keeps sniping at Wolff, Mercedes & Hamilton. It's just not very sporting to kick a man when he's down.

I rather suspect that his efforts will prove counter-productive. Wolff is one of the most effective Managers on the grid and Horner's carping & wind-baggery will merely fire-up Wolff & Mercedes to do a better job"

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13. Posted by Wokingchap, 08/06/2021 12:57

"He was stating the facts, not 'roasting' imo.....and if the wrong button on the steering wheel can be accidentally pressed ( or even forgotten that it's on), it needs redesigning.
On a pro audio mixer there is a led to tell you something is on or off."

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14. Posted by Old Git, 08/06/2021 12:44

"I suppose it's perfectly ok with CH when RB's good Herr Doctor PUBLICLY roasts RB's No.2 drivers on a regular basis!"

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Wolff wrong to publicly "roast" his own team, says Horner

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