Brushing Aside “Narcissistic” Max Verstappen Allegations, Mercedes Chief Toto Wolff Once Surprisingly Praised Red Bull’s Wonder Boy

Max Verstappen knows no complacency and mediocrity and expects everything to be perfect. There’s a reason why he’s one of the youngest drivers to win the double world championship. He’s ruthless and doesn’t make many mistakes. Moreover, he’s a machine who will do whatever it takes to succeed. His antics have often made him look like the villain in F1. His hot-headed nature and aggressive driving were called out by many drivers. However, he found unlikely support from Toto Wolff a couple of years ago.

The Dutch Lion had already impressed many with his phenomenal talent as soon as he entered the scene. There was no question that he was going to be an F1 champion in the future. But when many people started mistaking his confidence for arrogance, Toto Wolff defended the Dutchman in 2019.

Talking to his old boss, Nico Rosberg in an interview said, “He [Max] is like narcissist you write it like you would write it in the dictionary I think.”

To this, Toto Wolff said, “I think with Verstappen it’s different because there is a part in his life that we don’t see and that’s the relationship to his father.”

He added, “I think that Jos is giving his son direct feedback. I don’t think he’s holding back and Max’s behavior is self-confident in a way that he would even see sometimes overconfident but you must not forget that he’s very young.”

He concluded, “I think there is a certain degree of super confidence that helps you in your ability to drive. But I think the older he gets, the more he matures and grows, that anger he’s gonna get that angle under control.”

READ MORE: Mercedes F1 Boss Toto Wolff Once Threatened To Throw Lewis Hamilton Out To Restore Order at Mercedes

Verstappen’s self-belief and confidence in himself have helped him to achieve the ultimate dream of winning the F1 title, twice. The 25-year-old was absolutely dominant and a class above the other drivers this season.

Toto Wolff skeptical over Mercedes’ chances of rejoining duel with Max Verstappen next season

After the season that Red Bull and Verstappen have had, it’s no surprise that other teams are left scratching their head. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is in a similar situation and does not believe for certain that Lewis Hamilton and co. can rejoin the battle with Max Verstappen next year.

Wolff told journalists, “I’m never confident. I’m a glass half empty guy, and kind of never believe that the job that we’re doing is good enough.”

He added, “I’m not sure at all whether we can bounce back to a position where we compete for championships because you need to acknowledge that the competition is strong.”

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Mercedes won just a single race all season as Red Bull dominated the grid with 17 race wins. The only other team to win races this season was Ferrari.