Max Verstappen has informed Toto Wolff to give attention to his personal group after he known as the Dutchman’s document profitable streak “completely irrelevant” and “for Wikipedia”.
Red Bull’s Verstappen turned the primary driver in Formula One’s 73-year historical past to win 10 consecutive races following his triumph on the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
But moments after Verstappen’s landmark win, Mercedes group principal Wolff stated: “For me, these kinds of records are completely irrelevant. Those numbers are for Wikipedia and nobody reads that anyway.”
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton crossed the road a distant fifth and sixth respectively for Mercedes at Monza’s Cathedral of Speed.
And when requested forward of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix for his response to Wolff’s unflattering appraisal, Verstappen stated: “I mean, they (Mercedes) had a pretty s*** race, so he was probably still p***** off with their performance.”
Poking enjoyable at what Verstappen perceives to be an obsession with Red Bull, he continued: “He almost sounds like he’s an employee of our team, but luckily he is not. It’s just important that you focus on your own team. That’s what we do and that’s what we did in the past when we were behind them and when they were dominating. It worked as a kind of inspiration.
“You should be able to appreciate when a team is doing really well. To see someone that dominant – it 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, and we are enjoying the moment.”
Verstappen, now a victor at 12 of the 14 rounds up to now, has not misplaced a race because the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, whereas his Red Bull group stay unbeaten this yr.
But the Dutch driver has by no means gained in Singapore and final season he completed solely seventh. And Verstappen fears the high-downforce, low-speed nature of the Marina Bay Circuit may play into the arms of his rivals.
“We are not as competitive here as other tracks,” stated Verstappen. “The streets are a little bit tougher for our car. We can do a good job, but it will be very tight.
“So, I want to try and continue that streak, but I know there will be a day that that stops. Normally, Singapore is a bit more of a risk and more chaos, but we are here to win.
“I never really looked at winning eight or nine, 10 races in a row. I just want to do the best I can. And every weekend is basically the same in terms of the pressure I put on myself to try and get the best result so nothing really changes.”
