Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was enjoying hegemony on the grid until Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ruined their party. From 2014 to 2021, Mercedes won eight consecutive Constructor titles. But Max Verstappen started winning titles in 2021 itself. Even though Mercedes had a better car in 2021, the Dutchman was able to beat the seven-time champion, Lewis Hamilton.
It was an exciting season, as was the finale of the 2021 championship. Since then, Mercedes has lost their grip on the title. Moreover, Mercedes’s boss argues that Max Verstappen is truly dominating the grid merit-wise. In response to the question of whether Verstappen’s attitude toward his race engineer on the radio is justifiable, Wolff said it is.
Toto Wolff Says It Might Be Annoying To Watch, But Max Has Right To Be Cheeky
Moreover, Toto Wolff mentioned that Verstappen has the right to be a little cheeky after all that he has been accomplishing these days. According to the Mercedes boss, the Dutchman has been just driving circles and coming on top on the basis of merits. But Toto Wolff sure does not like the fact that his team’s drivers are not able to match or beat Max Verstappen. Everybody is just driving around but cannot match the merits of Verstappen. But Toto Wolff promotes the saying that F1 is all about meritocracy.
Hence, he says that all they can do is just wait and watch despite how annoying it is. Moreover, Toto Wolff says that they are focusing on the second Red Bull car. Adding to that, he mentioned that it would have been a competitive race if Max was out of the equation. But there is always a car and a driver who stays above everyone else, and others just have to play catch up. Additionally, Toto Wolff mentioned that there is nothing else to say or to do.
Max Verstappen Has No Competition In Current F1
On the other hand, Max Verstappen has killed all the competition factors of the F1 seasons. From 2022 Max is winning more than 80% share of the races. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko thinks that other drivers find the best that they can do is to come second to Verstappen. Only Sergio Perez was able to beat Verstappen twice this season. Later, Checo faded away. The Mexican has been very inconsistent. Lewis Hamilton believes he could have given Max hard times if he would drive the RB19 car as well. Helmut Marko does not think so.
The Red Bull advisor feels nobody can beat the Dutchman driving the same material. Moreover, last year, Verstappen broke the two Germans, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s record of 13 wins in a season. He won a total of 15 races out of 22. In the ongoing season, Max Verstappen has won 10 out of 12 Grand Prix already. He is currently on an eight-race winning streak. After the summer break, there are still 10 more races to go. What if he wins all the remaining races? Needless to say, then the Dutchman would break multiple records. But he would break his own records of last year as well. However, the question is would it be great for the sport?