Defending Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen called out rival team Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff for dismissing his consecutive title triumphs and his latest record of securing 10 Grand Prix wins in a row.
Speaking ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen said Wolff's comments stemmed from anger at poor results for Mercedes in Italy and described the team's race with an expletive. Mercedes had George Russell in fifth and Lewis Hamilton in sixth in Monza as they failed to get close to the Red Bull and Ferrari cars fighting for the podium places. Verstappen said rivals could draw inspiration from Red Bull's dominance instead.
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"I think it’s just important that you focus on your own team. That’s what we do as well. That’s what we did in the past as well when we were behind them and when they were dominating," Verstappen said.
He added, "And I think you should be able to appreciate when a team is doing really well, which I think we’ve done in the past, because it worked also as a kind of inspiration to see someone that dominant who was very impressive at the time. And we knew that we just had to work harder, try to be better and try to get to that level. And now that we are there, we are very happy of course that we are there and we are enjoying the moment and honestly, that’s all I can say about it."
The qualifying race at the Marina Bay Circuit will take place on September 16 whereas the final race will occur on September 17, with Verstappen aiming to bring an end to his drought in the Singapore GP after having conceded the victory to his teammate Sergio Perez last year.
(With AP inputs)
First Published: Sept 14, 2023 8:00 PM IST
