Toto Wolff gets sassy as Christian Horner's 'funny' response to Red Bull inquiry called

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff sarcastically responded to Red Bull boss Christian Horner on Friday following reports that the energy drink giants had exceeded the budget cap. Red Bull are on track to win the Constructors' Championship this season, while star driver Max Verstappen looks certain to claim his second consecutive Drivers' Championship.

Earlier today, Horner defended his side after it was reported that Red Bull went £4.5million over the budget limit last season. He insisted the claims were "just speculation at this stage".

“I am not aware of any [violations],” said Horner. "See the advice submitted in March, so it's been a long process with the FIA ​​and we're in that process right now. So they're rightly following that process. And I think next week in the middle of the next week is when they declare the certificates, so I think our submission was definitely below the cap. And obviously it's up to the FIA ​​to follow their process, which they are doing now."

But Wolff Horner's comments hit back at his fellow team manager. The Austrian insisted: "It's funny that Christian says that because they have been under investigation for weeks and months. So maybe he's not talking to his CFO. In fact, we've all been diligently investigated, and as far as we know, there's a minor infraction team - which is more procedural - and another team that's basically and massively terminated. This is still under review, so it's an open secret in the paddock.

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“There is governance in place which is very strong that the FIA ​​has put in place. You will be issued a certificate of compliance and then if you are not compliant it is submitted to independent judges who can choose among the sanctions the appropriate one.

"But the crucial part is that if you went to 21, then you went to 22. That means you have an advantage in 23. So it's really a cascade of events that can influence all three championships.

“It's heavyweight, it's massively heavy. We use used parts. We don't run what we would like to run, we don't develop what we could develop. 40 people who we miss very much in our organization and it was a huge colossal project to reach the milestone.

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"I don't know how many tens of millions we had to restructure, retreat to be below the cap. And if someone didn't or pushed the limits, every million is a huge disadvantage. "

But when asked if he would push to change the 2021 results, Wolff added: "No, I think it's not for me to judge and, it's not realistic, It's up to me to judge what the sanctions could be. The judges have all this field of analysis. But I would not want to be in their place because of the impact it has had over three years."