F1 News
Wolff reconsiders remark about Verstappen: 'I didn't mean it like that'
- GPblog.com
When Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed out of each other's cars at Monza, the two teams were at loggerheads again and there was a lot of finger-pointing about who was to blame for the crash. The stewards eventually decided that Verstappen was responsible for the crash. Toto Wolff said after the race that he saw it as a deliberate crash, but opposite of the stewards he now changes his mind. Motorsport-Total.com he changes his mind now.
The Mercedes team boss makes the comparison with football, where sometimes a foul is committed intentionally as well."If someone sees that the ball is going towards the goal, then the opponent is also willing to take a risk sometimes." According to Wolff, it is not the intention to commit a foul, but the risk is taken. "If you try to play the ball, you might hit your opponent. That to me is an intentional foul."
Own perspective on the crash
According to Wolff, Verstappen, therefore, did not hit Hamilton intentionally, but accepted the risk that he could hit the seven-time world champion. The Austrian acknowledges that he also understands Red Bull Racing's position, but stands by his point."Everyone will have their own perspective on this. It shouldn't be a fixed statement. It really doesn't seem that way to me."
At Monza, it was the second time both title rivals had hit each other hard. In Silverstone, it happened for the first time, when Max Verstappen shot hard into the wall."In Silverstone, we were quiet in the end as well. There were no fireworks after the race. I think everyone recognised that there was no point in going in very hard."