Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff shared his perspective on the mindset of elite sports figures, suggesting they sometimes feel the world is against them. His comments came in the wake of Max Verstappen`s contentious interaction with George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Russell had two contacts in Sunday`s race, which followed a late Safety Car period. The second collision at Turn 5, while they were competing for fourth place, was perceived as “deliberate” by the Mercedes driver.
The following day, Verstappen acknowledged that the move “shouldn`t have happened,” and Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirmed that the driver had apologized to the team.
Before Verstappen admitted fault, Wolff was asked about the Dutchman`s temperament, drawing on Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton`s experience in their intense 2021 championship battle.
He observed: “There`s a pattern that I`ve recognised with the great ones, whether it`s in motor racing or in other sports.”
You just need to have the world against you, and then you perform at the highest possible level. That`s why, sometimes, these greats don`t recognise that, actually, the world is not against you, it`s just you who has made a mistake, or you`ve screwed up.
We haven`t seen any of these moments with Max for many years now. I know 2021, that happened, but I don`t know where it comes from.
Wolff Assesses Mercedes` Recent Performance
Russell secured a fourth-place finish in Spain, finishing behind McLaren`s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc. This was his best result during the recent European triple-header, which included a seventh in Imola and an eleventh in Monaco. His team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, competing in F2, also faced difficulties during this period, including engine issues in Spain.
Reflecting on the triple-header, Wolff stated: “It’s difficult to see lots of positives, apart from the trajectory, that seemed to be a little bit better in tyre management.”
He added concern about the engine issue: “But we have to look at whether that was an engine failure with Kimi in Spain, it clearly looks like that at first sight. That is [normally] our strength, so we need to see where that comes from.”
Understanding tire behaviour is crucial, according to Wolff, especially looking ahead. “But overall, it’s important to understand the tyres because that is going to be a factor next year, an important factor next year, beyond all the sporting and technical regulations.”
Mercedes currently holds third place in the Constructors` Championship, trailing Ferrari and significantly behind the leading McLaren team by 203 points.
Wolff noted that Mercedes cars tend to struggle more with rear tire overheating in hotter conditions compared to competitors. He believes this trait is “dialled into the design” and forms part of the car`s fundamental “DNA.”
He acknowledged the complexity of car performance: “Even though we are a large organisations with many scientists and engineers, sometimes you don`t know why a car is doing something.”
I`m not sure McLaren knows exactly why they are so fast because it comes down to just the marginal gains and the detail and just good engineering.
Our car, generally over the years, was struggling more with the rear tyre overheating than others. We were always very strong when it was cold and that wasn`t an issue.
If you look back at Las Vegas last year, we went out from the first flying lap onwards, the driver said, `that car is awesome, we have so much grip like never before`. All of the other drivers were saying, `there`s literally no grip`, they`re sliding around.
That is certainly something which is intrinsic in the car. You can mask, or make worse with set-up directions, but it`s something that`s in the car.
