Formula 1: Christian Horner lodges cheeky attempt to get Mercedes factory access

Christian Horner took his attempts to gain an advantage on Mercedes for the 2022 Formula 1 season to new heights over the weekend as he bid £4,000 in a charity auction to try and win a tour around the Silver Arrows’ factory.

The 2022 campaign is just over a month away from getting going and there is excitement up and down the paddock over which team is going to get the new rules right and which team is potentially going to be playing catch up.

Indeed, Red Bull will be hoping that they can use 2021 as a springboard for 2022 with them now possessing the current Drivers’ champion in Max Verstappen, though they will know the likes of Mercedes will be strong again.

Their battle last season was epic, that is for sure, and the expectancy has to be despite the new rules that they will be the two teams to beat once more, with any advantage a potentially big one in the race for championships.

And, that said, Christian Horner was clearly ready to pay whatever it takes, rather cheekily, to get some insider information at Mercedes HQ, with him submitting this bid at the Autosport Awards charity auction:

Christian Horner bidding £4,000 for a Merc factory tour is the level of pettiness I aspire for pic.twitter.com/84fWlotijr

You can just imagine Toto Wolff’s face if it was him having to give Horner a tour around the factory but, of course, this is all done in good humour.

Horner and Wolff certainly went toe-to-toe at times last season in F1 and that fierce edge will be back next season, we’ll just have to see if the likes of McLaren and Ferrari can join them.