Hours After Verstappen’s Fiery Response, Wolff Pins the Blame on Niki Lauda to Backtrack on “Wikipedia” Insult

Two things stood out during the Italian GP weekend. First, Max Verstappen tearing apart the record books after a 10th consecutive race win. And second, Toto Wolff’s comments after the remarkable feat. Red Bull and Verstappen have been in a league of their own this season. They’ve been rewriting records left, right, and center. Despite how frequent this dance of breaking records has gotten, Verstappen’s achievement in Monza was nothing short of monumental. Instead of giving credit where credit was due, Wolff decided to take a jab at them.

In an interview after the race, Wolff said, “Our situation was maybe a little bit different because we had two guys fighting against each other within the team. Those numbers are for Wikipedia. Nobody reads that anyway.” Watching his dominance getting undermined, Verstappen didn’t just sit back and listen. As he hit back at Wolff, the Mercedes team boss tried to backtrack his statements using someone from his past.

Max Verstappen made Toto Wolff think twice about his comments

In a recent interview, Verstappen was discussing Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning run. As a seven-time champion, Hamilton had his own dominant phase in Formula 1. But while referring to his 2021 rival, Verstappen called him a six-time champion. The interviewer pointed out that he’s, in fact, a seven-time champion. Turns out, the Dutchman knew what he was saying and set himself up to take the perfect jab at Wolff. He responded, “I mean, I’m not very sure. I don’t read Wikipedia.”

Since Wolff made that comment, he’s been receiving significant backlash. Considering Mercedes’ period of domination, he should’ve appreciated Red Bull and Verstappen. Instead, he undermined them. But now, he’s backtracking those comments, pinning the blame on his late friend, Niki Lauda. The three-time champion was a trusted confidante of Wolff and Mercedes before his demise in 2019. That didn’t stop Wolff from using Lauda to clear his record.

In an interview reported by crash.net, Wolff said, “Well, obviously, when you look at the comments in the circumstances, you can think about was it the most intelligent thing that I could have said and maybe not. But it’s always been my mindset. It is something that I’ve taken from Niki [Lauda], you know? Niki gave his trophies away to get a free car wash. You won’t find a lot of memorabilia in my places either because those numbers never mattered for the two of us.” As Wolff tried to steer the blame away from himself, another former driver reveled in the exchanges.

Read More: Days After Taking Dig at FIA for Snatching Hamilton’s Supremacy, Wolff “Doesn’t Expect Revolution” During Verstappen’s Golden Era

Wolff and Verstappen’s exchanges are adding excitement to the season

What’s a Formula 1 season without some drama? Over the past few seasons, Red Bull and Mercedes’ off-track shenanigans have contributed most to a season’s excitement. The 2023 season is keeping the streak going. After Wolff’s ‘Wikipedia’ comment, Verstappen almost instantly hit back at the Mercedes team boss. He joked, “They had a bad race in Monza, so he was probably still disappointed about that. It sometimes seems as if he is an employee of our team, but fortunately, that is not the case.”

Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger made an appearance on the F1 Nation Podcast recently. Discussing the back and forth between Red Bull and Mercedes, he was asked if the remarks were unnecessary. He replied, “Of course not. But on the other side, thank God we have all these discussions. What should we talk about now if they all would just be very streamlined and never any critical comments?” Berger believes—much like Netflix—that these moments give F1 the spice it needs occasionally. Without them, the season wouldn’t be as interesting.

What are your thoughts on the entire back and forth? Whose side are you on: Max Verstappen or Toto Wolff?

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