The heated competition between Mercedes and Red Bull that season definitely had its peak moments. Especially the fight between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner got feisty and was a topic conversations just as much as the on track duel between their drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The (especially) verbal rivalry between the two started early during the season, with the Flexi-wing controversy and carried on for the remaining of it. The relationship between Wolff and Horner was pretty good until 2021, but plummeted very fast. 

In an interview with Formule 1 Magazine that was published recently from the Dutch GP weekend, Wolff talked about his regrets for the deteriorating relationship. As he said: "I really regret it. I always try to stay professional and approach things professionally. It got very personal between the two of us at some point, that's right.

"He told me to 'keep my mouth shut' [during the flexi-wing situation] and then I responded by saying he was a windbag and talked too much for the cameras. I shouldn't have said that.

"It's a professional relationship and you know that even your worst enemy has a best friend, so you have to respect that person, even if you fight a hard duel in a professional environment.”

He also admitted that Susie Wolff, the Formula E Rokit Venturi Racing team boss and privately the wife of Toto played a big role of a peacemaker throughout the season. As he said: "Susie pointed that out to me very clearly. She said, 'Why are you having these kinds of discussions? You're trying to win, respect that. Even if someone goes in that direction, you don't have to'. That's called female social intelligence! We sometimes have too many hormones.”

Following the (controversial) ending of the 2021 season, the two team bosses shook hands and congratulated each other with their respective wins. How will their relationship play out during the upcoming 2022 season?