F1: Verstappen calls Wolff’s comments ‘Bull$hit’
Max Verstappen met with the media today at Monza ahead of the Italian GP and called out Toto Wolff’s comments on Red Bull favoritism as “Bull$hit.”
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Recently, several comments have emerged regarding the differences between the Red Bull drivers’ cars and Toto Wolff was no exception. Speaking in a media session after qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix when Verstappen outpaced Perez by 1.3s, the Austrian commented:
“Odd, bizarre – Checo is not an idiot. We have seen it all these years, Checo is a Grand Prix winner, a multiple Grand Prix winner, and he was at Racing Point. I cannot comprehend… we have seen Max destroy every single teammate that was with him, whether it is the ability to create a car around himself that is just very tricky to control but fast if you can… that makes those gaps. “But 1.3 seconds? I haven’t heard any explanations, but odd.”
Sergio Perez was asked about it during today’s press conference ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. The Mexican driver responded in a more neutral and conservative way: “I think it’s hard to say, we’d have to look at it race by race.
“At the end of the day, sometimes the gap is bigger. For example, how it was in Zandvoort, it was mainly getting the conditions right and exploring everything out of the car – and the differences if you don’t get the conditions right, you will see a big delta, so it’s how it works sometimes. We’ve seen with other drivers those sorts of gaps.
“It’s a long season in F1, and it doesn’t really matter in my opinion where we are now, it only matters where we are able to finish, and then we can summarize our season in Abu Dhabi.”
Verstappen described Wolff’s statements as “bull***” and denied that the RB19 was designed especially for him:
“Bull*** comments!” was Verstappen’s blunt response during his media session. “It’s not like that.
“I just drive the car the fastest way possible. I’m not there to tell the guys to give me more because that’s how I like it.
“I just say ‘Design me the fastest car, and I’ll drive around that’ because every single year, every car drives a little bit differently.
“People ask ‘What is your driving style?’ My driving style is not something particular. I adapt to what I need for the car to go quick. For me, what is critical is that you are able to adapt your driving style to what the car needs.”
What Verstappen did not say, but we will, is the fact that Wolff’s drivers are not good enough to change their driving style to make a mediocre car go faster. If the car is slow, his drivers are lost.
It is obvious to everyone in the know in the paddock that Verstappen is a once in a generation talent.
Perhaps even the greatest driver in history, but that story is still playing out, and it will be interesting to see how it ends.