11/06/2025 19:05
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has handed Max Verstappen key
advice after the Dutchman "screwed up" in the Spanish Grand Prix,
that the world is not against him. Verstappen received three
penalty points and a 10-second time penalty for driving into George
Russell at Turn 5 in the closing stages, in a shock red mist
moment. It was the four-time world champion's first major incident
since forcing Lando Norris off the circuit in Mexico City last
year, where he was also penalised heavily. Wolff is a keen admirer
of Verstappen and has been heavily linked to trying to sign the Red
Bull driver in recent years, but does believe he went too far with
Russell in the Spanish GP. Verstappen painted a frustrated figure
in the media pen post-race, before addressing his actions on social
media a day after and described his move on Russell as "not right".
In Wolff's eyes, there is no doubting the 27-year-old is one of the
all-time F1 greats and thrives when people are against him.
However, the Austrian has also highlighted a clear message that a
pattern amongst all the greats is sometimes struggling to accept
when a mistake has been made. "There's a pattern that I've
recognised with the great ones, whether it's in motor racing or in
other sports," Wolff told select media, including RacingNews365 in
Barcelona. "You just need to have the world against you, and then
you perform at the highest possible levels. "And 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, etc, etc. "So we haven't seen any of these moments
with Max for many years now. Obviously I know the year 2021, that
happened, and I don't know where it comes."
