another “shootout” between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner

The pattern of Mercedes, This is Wolffand its pair in Red Bull, Christian Hornerrevived their exchange of statements about the future of Max Verstappenafter the former once again slipped the possibility of signing the Dutch driver on Sunday.

Mad Max’s future at Red Bull seemed to be left up in the air a month ago, when his father Jos said the Austrian team was “going to explode” if Horner stayed in the job. These statements came after the accusations against the team leader of “inappropriate behavior” towards an employee, of which the British man was acquitted after an internal investigation.

Verstappen publicly expressed his future commitment to Red Bull, but after the Dutchman’s victory in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, the Mercedes boss once again stirred up the hornet’s nest.“Everyone is waiting to see what (Verstappen) does”Wolff told reporters in the pits at the Shanghai Autodrome.

“There are so many factors that play a role in a driver joining a team”continued the Austrian, who needs to replace the seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamiltonwho has already announced his move to Ferrari starting next season.

“Obviously, from a more rational point of view, the main factor is to put the fastest car in the hands of the fastest driver, but I don’t think that’s the only reason to stay where you are,” Wolff added.

This season, Wolff had already stated that he would “love” to sign three-time reigning world champion Verstappen if he were available.

These latest comments from Wolff caused uHorner’s forceful responsewho declared that the Austrian skipper should concentrate on reviving Mercedes after the poor start to the season.

“Why would anyone want to leave this team?”Horner said.

“Mercedes is behind its clients (McLaren and Aston Martin, which have Mercedes engines). He (Wolff) should spend his time concentrating on his team more than on the driver transfer market,” attacked the Briton, before stating: “I can assure you that there is no ambiguity about where Max Verstappen will be next year.”