Christian Horner has steered Purple Bull handle their drivers “higher” than Mercedes in a cheeky dig forward of the Miami Grand Prix. The Purple Bull group boss made the comment in Friday’s press convention because the pair mentioned how finest to handle team-mates who’re battling for the championship.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez could possibly be embroiled in a title duel with simply six factors separating the duo. The 2 Purple Bull stars have two wins every to date this season with Perez displaying real promise.

Wolff mentioned: “From my previous, it is a tremendous difficult job for Christian and the group, as a result of each drivers will clearly attempt to at all times really feel that they’re pretty and equally handled while on the similar time attempting to have a bonus.

“In our group, it was essential to keep up a whole lot of transparency and readability, have discussions earlier than we really go racing on a Sunday, and put boundaries.”

He added: “However getting the stability proper between accepting that these two guys are racing for a championship, and it is throughout the similar storage, and on the similar time, they’re half of a bigger construction. I feel that is not at all times simple, as a result of they’re very aggressive animals.”

In a cheeky response, Horner responded: “We do every little thing that Toto says however simply higher”. The 49-year-old then revealed the group “go to pains” to make sure equal therapy between their two stars.

He added: “I feel that it is a luxurious drawback. Initially, any group principal within the pitlane would hope to have that problem, and it is one thing we have skilled earlier than.

“Probably the most key factor is to make sure that paranoia does not creep in and that each drivers are handled equally.”

Purple Bull have repeatedly harassed there isn’t a feud on the group however their two drivers have clashed on events together with a public argument after final yr’s race in Sao Paulo. Perez additionally demanded a “evaluate” at Purple Bull and approached Verstappen for talks after this yr’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Mercedes needed to endure their very own intra-team battle when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had been caught in a tense feud. The 2 drivers battle reached its explosive heights in 2016 with the 2 drivers colliding in Spain and Rosberg popping out on high.