Verstappen lost his pole position at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix after being sanctioned for hindering Russell by driving too slowly in qualifying.

Horner exclaimed the following day: “Yesterday’s penalty was more based on hysterics from George, who has been quite hysterical this weekend. I think there was a little bit of gamesmanship going on in that.”

Wolff was unwilling to let Horner’s remarks slide without offering a reply. And ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Austrian stated: “This is a thing between drivers, this is George and Max, and I don’t want to get involved in that.

“But if the other team principal calls George hysterical, this is when he crosses a line for me. He is not into intellectual psychoanalysis, but that is quite a word. How dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver.”

And the 52-year-old added: “If you don't do that, you're falling short of your role. It's just weak. And, at the end [of the day], why does he feel entitled to comment about my driver? How does that come? Yapping little terrier. Always something to say.”

Horner decided to have fun with Wolff’s assessment after the two practice sessions on Friday. And the 51-year-old posted a close-up shot of his white terrier dog Bernie, who sadly passed away in 2021, to his Instagram story as he took to social media to poke fun of his rival's comments.

Horner had earlier been quizzed about Wolff’s comments during a press conference after FP1.

And the Briton explained: “I love terriers, I think they are great dogs. I had four of them and a couple of Airedales, which is the king of the terriers.

“I had a couple of West Highland terriers called Bernie and Flavio. And the good thing about a terrier is they’re tremendously loyal. Bernie, he was an aggressive little dog, he’d go for anybody. Flavio, he was a bit more chilled and he probably ate a bit too much as well.

“To be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing? They're not afraid of having a go at the bigger dogs. You know I'd rather be a terrier than a wolf, maybe.”

He then offered his take on being labelled “weak” by Wolff as he added: “I'm not going to raise to the bait of that. Everybody manages themselves and their teams in different ways - we've won 122 races, we've won 14 World Championships. I think we're doing alright.”