'Christian's always stirring s*** up' – Wolff reacts to Horner naming Russell as potential Red Bull target

Toto Wolff has given his reaction to Christian Horner’s recent suggestions that George Russell could be a potential target for Red Bull in the future, with the Mercedes boss believing that the remarks were made to “stir s*** up”.

With much discussion recently over which drivers will remain within the Red Bull family – amid speculation over Daniel Ricciardo exiting at RB, while Sergio Perez has also faced scrutiny over his position – Horner stated during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that the team are “not afraid to go out of the pool” going forward.

READ MORE: Horner cites Mercedes’ Russell as potential Red Bull target as he says team not afraid to ‘go out of the pool’ in future

This led to him adding: “George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration. There are other drivers, talented drivers, that will be out of contract as well.”

When asked about Horner’s comments later in the weekend, Wolff responded: “Christian is always trying to stir the s*** up.”

After a journalist then jokingly suggested that Wolff could be penalised for using such language – following on from Max Verstappen being handed a punishment for swearing in a press conference – the Mercedes boss continued: “This is excrement, it is very natural, it’s not liking having an interaction with someone, it’s going to the toilet – I could argue this with the stewards.

READ MORE: Wolff brands Singapore Grand Prix ‘a really painful, painful evening’ as he admits Mercedes just ‘too slow’

“But, coming back to the point, he’s stirring the s*** up. It’s part of the game. George has been a Mercedes driver forever and hopefully will be forever.”

It comes after Wolff’s public pursuit of Verstappen, with the Austrian having admitted earlier in the year that he “would love” to have the Dutchman at Mercedes, a possibility that now appears to be off the cards for the foreseeable future following the signing of Kimi Antonelli for 2025.

With Russell entering into his fourth season at the Silver Arrows next year – and his seventh campaign overall in F1 – Wolff has previously said that the 26-year-old “has all he needs to step in the more senior role in the team” amid the impending departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari.

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“He’s learning, he’s constantly developing,” Wolff commented about Russell. “That is a skill we have all admired with Lewis – although he’s this great champion, he is constantly developing as a human and as a racing driver.

“So yes, George has all he needs to step in the more senior role in the team and take the leadership when it maybe comes to technical decisions on set-ups that need to be taken. I have great confidence in him.”