Toto Wolff sparks fresh row after Max Verstappen comments following Spanish GP

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

In the unexpected Formula 1 beef of the season, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff finds himself the enemy of taxi drivers in major Italian cities after his comments about Max Verstappen after the Spanish Grand Prix
Move over Christian Horner, Toto Wolff has a new mortal enemy – Italian taxi drivers. Cabbies in the capital Rome are upset with the Mercedes chief after his rather unflattering comments about them as he reacted to Max Verstappen's road rage in Barcelona.
The Dutchman furiously rammed into George Russell during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, landing himself a penalty which dropped him to 10th place. And it was when giving his view on the incident that Wolff angered taxi drivers in Italy.
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Speaking to the Italian arm of Sky Sports after the race, he said of the Verstappen incident: "This is road rage, like the taxi drivers in Rome or Naples." He went on to add: "There's a lot of aggression in the centre of Rome and Naples, without rules."
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There has been no real reaction from cabbies in Naples, but their Roman counterparts are unhappy with the Mercedes boss. "Wolff's joke? Maybe it would be better for him to focus on [the performance] of his own team," taxi cooperative 3570 president Loreno Bittarelli told Corriere della Sera.
Another unnamed taxi driver told the Italian newspaper: "We are better than F1 drivers, they wouldn't last an hour in the traffic of the capital. I would like to see those drivers drive like us among construction sites, traffic, scooters, golf carts. Rome is a jungle these days, not Formula 1 tracks."
And Nicola Di Giacobbe, from taxi union Filt-Cgil, responded by mocking Mercedes who have not been as performant in recent years compared to their dominant era between 2014 and 2021. "We drive like a Mercedes, as it goes 30 miles per hour like us," he quipped.
Verstappen has publicly admitted fault for his petulant act, while Red Bull team principal Horner said the Dutchman has apologised privately to his colleagues. Russell, responded to being hit by saying it was a "shame" that a four-time F1 champion is also capable of such moments of madness.
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Later analysing what had happened while speaking to reporters, Wolff pointed at a mentality which is often present among elite sports stars, particularly those who often come in for public criticism.
The Austrian said: "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."