Toto Wolff has attributed Christian Horner's dismissal from Red Bull to an overinflated sense of self-importance that ultimately proved his undoing.
The Mercedes team principal offered his assessment of his former rival's departure, which brought to a close two decades at the Milton Keynes outfit.
"It's the sense of entitlement he has," Wolff told The Telegraph. "And that bit him in the end, because he felt entitled to all the power, and Red Bull didn't want to give him that power."
The pair engaged in one of Formula One's most combustible off-track rivalries, particularly during the fierce 2021 championship battle between their respective drivers.
Christian Horner left his role at Red Bull earlier this year
|GETTY
Wolff disclosed that the wounds from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale remain raw for both himself and Lewis Hamilton.
"I talked to Lewis about it yesterday," the Austrian revealed. "I think about it every day and so does he."
The controversial conclusion to that season saw Max Verstappen overtake Hamilton on the final lap following a safety car period, after race director Michael Masi incorrectly applied the regulations.
"It's stayed with the team, too. Both were deserving champions, but the referee made a bad call, to use a football analogy, and you can't reverse it. The goal has been scored, the game is finished."
Wolff expressed frustration at Horner's persistent refusal to concede that the Abu Dhabi outcome was problematic.
Toto Wolff and Christian Horner have long had a rivalry in Formula One
| PA"Christian was never able to admit the same – that if it was the other way round and had happened to them that day, it would have been catastrophic, and he would have come up with all kinds of insults."
The Mercedes chief acknowledged attempting to view matters from Red Bull's perspective, accepting they felt deserving of the championship after experiencing their own unfair incidents throughout the campaign.
However, he identified a fundamental character flaw in his former adversary.
"And I think that the ability to be introspective or be able to see the other side with some compassion is a total gap in his personality."
Horner departed Red Bull in July with a reported £80 million severance package, some twelve months after a sex texting scandal had engulfed the team.
Christian Horner is hoping to get back into F1 | PAThe Briton was never informed of the precise reasons behind his dismissal, with Laurent Mekies subsequently appointed as his replacement.
Under the terms of his exit agreement, Horner will be permitted to return to the Formula One paddock from April next year, and is currently considering his options.
Despite their fractious history, Wolff confessed to experiencing a degree of nostalgia for their battles.
"In a way, I do miss it," he admitted. "Him and I, we've been fighting for 12 years."