© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Toto Wolff discusses his relationship with Max Verstappen and his father Jos, and adds 2021 “was not the kind of racing you would want to have”.
Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff discussed his relationship with Max Verstappen and his father Jos, a relationship that has gotten a bit worse after the fierce title battle of 2021.
Toto pinpoints the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix, which ended with the Dutch driver crashing into the barrier at 51G, as the moment where he made a mistake when it comes to their relationship.
“I have gotten on with Jos for all my life, maybe because we’re a bit similar. I think we had a very good relationship since Max became on the radar, racing single-seaters,” the Austrian said.
“Probably our meeting in my living room in Vienna [in 2015, before Verstappen joined Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso – now RB] was the first big Formula 1 meeting they did and we had always the understanding of how things should work for them and for us.
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“I think that respect for each other always stayed. Where we had a moment was after Silverstone [2021].
“That season really took some toll on all of us. It was so intense. Each of us felt that things weren’t right.
“Where it really went wrong is that I made a mistake after Silverstone, I didn’t call Jos on the same day, which I should have done.
“But I didn’t call him because we were so angry on the whole situation, also because I was told in the pitlane that Max is fine and there is nothing [no injuries].
“In a way, I relied on that information rather than picking up the phone and calling Jos like I would have done all the years before and saying: “Is Max okay?”
“Because I have a child that go-karts, I know how you feel as a father and that’s not something that I had in my mind.
“So for, I would say for a year, and then obviously the disaster in Abu Dhabi – and the races leading up to Saudi Arabia, we weren’t in a good place.
“But we were kind of on the same wavelength in the year afterwards, so it went back into a good position and it is today, for the last couple of years, as good as it was at the beginning.”
Toto also explained that sports rivalries sometimes tend to be very fierce, but that should not alter the personal relationship between competitotors.
“I think the rivalry over all those years, from 2017 onwards, was always healthy. This is like rugby. You punch the other one in the nose on the field, but you’re able to then go to the pub and that is always how we maintain the relationships.
“So I’m not worried about them. We are competitors. We try to beat each other. Sometimes it’s going to be hard, but that’s okay.
“I think ’21 was not the kind of racing you would want to have,” Wolff concluded.
