Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes the greats in sport “sometimes think the world is against them” in light of Max Verstappen’s controversial incident with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Russell clashed twice during Sunday’s race after a late Safety Car but the second contact at Turn 5 in their battle for fourth “felt deliberate” according to the Mercedes driver.
On Monday, Verstappen admitted his move “shouldn’t have happened” and Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed his driver apologised to the team.
Before Verstappen accepted the blame for hitting Russell, Wolff was asked about the Dutchman’s temperament after Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton experienced a season-long battle against him in 2021.
He said: “There’s a pattern that I’ve recognised with the great ones, whether it’s in motor racing or in other sports.
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“You just need to have the world against you, and then you perform at the highest possible level. That’s why, sometimes, these greats don’t recognise that, actually, the world is not against you, it’s just you who has made a mistake, or you’ve screwed up.
“We haven’t seen any of these moments with Max for many years now. I know 2021, that happened, but I don’t know where it comes from.”
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Watch new footage of Max Verstappen’s onboard as he and George Russell come together in a controversial moment during the final laps of the Spanish Grand Prix
Wolff: Difficult to see lots of positives from triple-header
Russell went on to finish fourth in Spain behind the McLaren one-two of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, plus Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It was his best result from the European triple-header after he was only seventh in Imola and 11th in Monaco. His Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli failed to score any points across the three races after two engine failures and a disappointing Monaco.
“It’s difficult to see lots of positives, apart from the trajectory, that seemed to be a little bit better in tyre management,” said Wolff.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen controversially collided with George Russell towards the end of the Spanish Grand Prix – earning himself a 10-second penalty
“But we have to look at whether that was an engine failure with Kimi in Spain, it clearly looks like that at first sight. That is [normally] our strength, so we need to see where that comes from.
“But overall, it’s important to understand the tyres because that is going to be a factor next year, an important factor next year, beyond all the sporting and technical regulations.”
Mercedes have dropped to third in the Constructors’ Championship behind Ferrari and are 203 points behind runaway leaders McLaren.
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A dramatic restart at the Spanish GP sees Max Verstappen collide with Charles Leclerc and George Russell after Kimi Antonelli retired
Mercedes appear to struggle in hotter conditions when tyre degradation is higher, which Wolff thinks is “dialled into the design” and part of a car’s “DNA”.
“Even though we are a large organisations with many scientists and engineers, sometimes you don’t know why a car is doing something,” he added.
“I’m not sure McLaren knows exactly why they are so fast because it comes down to just the marginal gains and the detail and just good engineering.
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“Our car, generally over the years, was struggling more with the rear tyre overheating than others. We were always very strong when it was cold and that wasn’t an issue.
“If you look back at Las Vegas last year, we went out from the first flying lap onwards, the driver said, ‘that car is awesome, we have so much grip like never before’. All of the other drivers were saying, ‘there’s literally no grip’, they’re sliding around.
“That is certainly something which is intrinsic in the car. You can mask, or make worse with set-up directions, but it’s something that’s in the car.”
The 2025 Formula 1 season pauses for breath after the European triple-header before resuming live on Sky Sports F1 with the Canadian Grand Prix from June 13-15. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
