Horner slams ‘pantomime dame’ Wolff for suggesting Hamilton vs Verstappen rivalry may be decided by ‘Senna-Prost’ crash

RED BULL boss Christian Horner has labelled Toto Wolff a ‘pantomime dame’ after the Mercedes chief suggested the title race may be decided by a remake of the ‘Senna-Prost’ 1990 crash.

Max Verstappen leads seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton by 12 points with just five races to go.

Wolff says ‘whoever is in front [on points] is absolutely going to try to do the same as in the Senna-Prost years’

And Wolff believes that either Verstappen or Hamilton might do a ‘Senna-Prost’ by taking the other out.

The pair have come to blows a couple of times this season already at both Silverstone and the Italian Grand Prix.

In Italy, Hamilton had a lucky escape with the halo saving him from being crushed underneath Verstappen’s car.

Horner responded: “Look, we all know that Toto has a lot to say but I was quite flattered to be called a protagonist, if you look at the definition of what it means. 

“You need an antagonist to have a protagonist and one could say perhaps Toto fills that role pretty well.

“If it were a pantomime, maybe the pantomime dame role might suit him. But it is all about what goes on on the track and it is a great competition between the teams.

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“It is no-holds barred, it is pit-walls against pit-walls, drivers against drivers, engine suppliers against engine suppliers, chassis against chassis. It is fantastic and we are loving it.

“Occasionally you are going to get some flak thrown at you but you take it with a pinch of salt and sometimes even as a compliment.”

Horner went on to express his disappointment in Wolff for his comments.

He continued: “I was disappointed to read comments condoning this. We want a fair fight between now and the end of the season. Any driver would want to win it on track.

“We are a racing team and aiming to win the constructor title and we also want to pull off the feat without a collision between our drivers.

“Austin [a nail-biter won by Verstappen a fortnight ago to give him a 12-point lead] was a great race and we want a few more Austins before the end of the year. Nobody wants this decided in a gravel trap.”