Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes there’s more to Toto Wolff’s ‘diplomatic’ response to the incident between Max Verstappen and George Russell in Spain. The current analyst found it striking that the Austrian didn’t seem to protect his own Mercedes driver, as if Wolff is already in talks with Verstappen ‘and discussing next year’.
The most talked-about moment during the Spanish Grand Prix was the clash between Max Verstappen and George Russell after the race restart. Although it was unclear whether the Dutchman deliberately drove into the Brit, Verstappen was given a ten-second time penalty and three penalty points for the incident. “If that was really a form of road rage from Verstappen, which I can hardly imagine because it was so obvious, then that’s not good,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff responded afterwards.
The Austrian compared Max Verstappen‘s action to a maneuver by an angry taxi driver, which drew sharp criticism from Rome’s taxi drivers. “We are better than Formula 1 drivers, they wouldn’t last an hour in Rome’s city traffic,” countered Loreno Bittarelli, chairman of the taxi association, in response to Wolff’s statement. “We are the last ones who would want to cause an accident, as we would lose our jobs.”
Wolff’s Diplomatic Response
Not only did Rome’s taxi drivers comment on Wolff’s statements, but former driver Ralf Schumacher also had something to say. “I actually found Toto Wolff’s response quite nice,” the current analyst shares in the Backstage Boxengasse podcast. “It was so diplomatic. You almost get the idea that he and Max are already sitting down to dinner and talking about next year.”
Schumacher found it particularly striking that Wolff did not defend his own driver, George Russell. “Normally, you would expect a team boss to protect his own driver, but Toto more or less said: let’s first calmly look at what Max has actually done. I found that very striking. It seems that the door is still ajar (for Verstappen),” concludes the analyst.
