Toto Wolff Concedes No F1 Driver Will Catch Max Verstappen This Season

by bollywoodfever · 07/04/2024

Toto Wolff Concedes No F1 Driver Will Catch Max Verstappen This Season. No one is going to catch Max this season. His driving and the car are just spectacular,

Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes, Red Bull’s main competitor from the previous season, has conceded that no Formula One driver stands a chance against Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen this year.

Verstappen Dominates Suzuka for a Hat-Trick of Victories in Japanese Grand Prix

This admission came on the heels of Verstappen’s commanding victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished almost 13 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez and more than 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the competitors. “No one is going to catch Max this season. His driving and the car are just spectacular,” Wolff remarked following the race at the Suzuka circuit.

Wolff reflected on the season’s prospects, acknowledging that the real competition would be for the second place. “Basically this season now is best of the rest … hopefully we catch up to the McLaren and then the Ferraris and fight for P2. This is what it is this year.“

Despite finishing second in last season’s constructor championship, barely ahead of Ferrari with 409 points, Mercedes lagged significantly behind Red Bull’s 806 points. The start of the season has seen Mercedes trailing, currently fourth in the constructor standings, even behind Ferrari and McLaren.

In the Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion with Mercedes, finished ninth, while his teammate George Russell secured the seventh place, following a tire strategy that didn’t pay off.

Wolff expressed that despite the setbacks, there were improvements in understanding the car better, with Hamilton noting it was the best he had felt driving the car in years. Yet, Wolff found little solace in this progress, given the early indication that the championship race might already be decided.

“If your expectation is to eventually race for wins and championships, then you can say we are in a bit of a no man’s land,” he said, emphasizing the unsatisfactory nature of competing for anything less than first place.

When asked about Wolff’s remarks, Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, acknowledged Verstappen’s strong start to the season but cautioned against premature conclusions, pointing out that the season was still long with “still 20 races to go.” Horner advised not to take Wolff’s comments too seriously, hinting at the unpredictability of the season’s outcome.

Also Read, Iowa vs UConn Sets Record as Most-Watched Women’s Basketball Game on ESPN