Toto Wolff and Christian Horner disagree over ‘screaming engines’

© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

Christian Horner says he prefers internal combustion engines, while Toto Wolff thinks Formula 1 needs to remain “relevant” with its partners and sponsors.

The debate over which direction should Formula 1’s new 2025 power unit take rages on. Asked about this, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said he prefers the ‘old’ internal combustion engines, and one of the reasons he likes them is the noise.

“Every fan out there, when you hear Fernando Alonso was running his V10 Renault around Abu Dhabi, the emotion and noise is still, for me, such a key factor that is still missing from the sport,” the Briton said.

“We need to turn the volume up and do it in a responsible manner, in a cost-effective manner, in a way that is sustainable, that is environmentally friendly, but there needs to be entertainment.

“That is why people turn their TVs on, that is why they watch this sport,” concluded Horner.


If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!



Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff disagrees, as he believes Formula 1 should not ignore more environmentally friendly options.

“I would disagree with Christian, because it is what we think, but we are not the most relevant generation anymore,” the Austrian said.

“When you ask an 18-year-old or a 22-year-old about noisiness, most of these guys consume it via different screens where noise has little or no relevance.

“I personally like it too, I would like to have a 12-cylinder that screams down the road.

“But as a matter of fact, we are a sport, we are a business and we would lose complete relevance with our partners, sponsors and major stakeholders if we weren’t looking at the environment and the impact that we make.

“It would be totally misaligned with where the world is moving and turn every single business partner away from F1 if we stick with internal combustion engines, even though we may like them,” concluded Wolff.

Follow us on Twitter @SilverArrowsNet and like us on Facebook!

Comments are closed.