Wolff admits Wikipedia comments about Verstappen ‘not the most intelligent’

Verstappen claimed his 10th consecutive Grand Prix win last time out at Monza to surpass the record of nine race wins held by Red Bull predecessors Sebastian Vettel and Alberto Ascari.

Red Bull also made history by defeating Mercedes to become the first team to achieve 15 victories in a row.

But Mercedes motorsport boss Wolff downplayed his rival’s achievements in Italy, telling Sky Sports F1: “Our situation was a bit different because we had two guys.” [Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg] Fight against each other within the team.

“I don’t know if [Verstappen] Takes care of records. These numbers are nothing important to me.

“It’s for Wikipedia and no one reads it anyway.”

Wolff has now admitted that he may have been wrong in his forceful behavior, but he was channeling the mindset of former Mercedes non-executive boss and three-time Formula 1 champion, the late Niki Lauda.

On reflection, the Austrian said his comments on Wikipedia were “probably not” the smartest thing to say, and were more representative of his lack of passion for numbers.

“Well, obviously when you look at the comments, in those circumstances, you might think ‘was that the smartest thing I could have said’ and maybe not.” Wolf thought.

“But that’s always been my mentality and something I took from Nicky. He gave Nicky his prizes for a free car wash.

“You won’t find a lot of memorabilia in my places either because those numbers were of no interest to the two of us.

Wolff added that even if statistics didn’t matter to him, Red Bull should still be recognized for doing a “fantastic job” that would reward the team with the “most valuable” prize – the Constructors’ Championship.

He added: “Formula 1 is a meritocracy. I have said it a lot during this year that only the best will win world championships and you need to recognize the great work that is being done there.”

“And in the end, they will get another big title, and that is the most valuable thing. The best person in the best car wins the world championship.”