Max Verstappen has given a cool response to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after the Austrian claimed that the era of ruthless Formula 1 drivers is over, as Crash.net reports. Wolff delivered the scathing remarks following the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured his maiden F1 world title with a third-place finish.
Without dropping specific names, Wolff targeted what he called a dying breed of racing drivers defined by a selfish, opportunistic, win-at-all-costs mindset. He praised Antonelli as a fresh kind of champion, pointing to values like humility, integrity, loyalty, and respect. The Mercedes boss contrasted this with what he termed entitled drivers, endless radio moaners, and those who crash, pointedly telling younger competitors to look at the twenty-year-old kid to see how to improve.
Faced with those remarks during the Thursday media day press conference ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Verstappen offered a characteristically brief reply. The four-time world champion noted that everyone is entitled to their opinion while adding that he had nothing else to say. He also defended the variety of characters on the grid, arguing that differing personalities are good for Formula 1 because uniformity would be boring. Meanwhile, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was also asked for his views during the media sessions, but the Aston Martin driver declined to comment.
Verstappen heads into the action in Brazil sitting second in the world championship standings, buoyed by securing his third victory of the season last time out. Admitting surprise at his current championship position, the Dutchman pointed to early-season struggles and a learning curve with the power unit before the team managed to turn things around. He emphasized that the squad never gave up or settled for minor points, fighting through the midfield before finding a better operating window for the car.
That relentless push from the team has allowed Verstappen to fight at the front and take crucial points out of everyone else in recent races. While acknowledging the difficulties at the start of the year, he expressed satisfaction with the massive mid-season turnaround achieved through sheer hard work and understanding the machine's initial shortcomings.
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