F1 legend Damon Hill blasts ‘ungracious’ Mercedes chief Toto Wolff for dismissing Max Verstappen’s record-breaking tenth consecutive win as ‘completely irrelevant’
- Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix ahead of Sergio Perez
- Dutchman is the first driver to win 10 consecutive races in Formula One
- Carlos Sainz finished third ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc
Damon Hill has called Toto Wolff ‘ungracious’ for dismissing Max Verstappen’s record 10 straight wins as ‘completely irrelevant’.
Mercedes team principal Wolff made the remarks within minutes of the Dutchman accomplishing the feat at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, adding it was a statistic ‘for Wikipedia, and nobody reads that anyway’.
That was despite it being the first time anyone has notched a perfect 10 since the Formula One world championship came into being 73 years ago.
Hill, world champion in 1996, said of Wolff’s damning appraisal: ‘It sounded a bit churlish and not very gracious.
‘It’s unlike Toto because he’s usually very sporting. But he is hurting a bit now. Mercedes know what it is like to be dominant and they didn’t even get on the podium in Monza. They seem to be a bit stymied and can’t work out what to do.
Red Bull ace Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday
The Dutchman is the first driver to win 10 consecutive races in the history of Formula One
Damon Hill (L) has hit out at Toto Wolff (R) for dismissing Max Verstappen’s record
‘But who can? It seems everywhere we go, Red Bull have got the upper hand.’
George Russell finished a distant fifth at Monza, while Lewis Hamilton was sixth, 42 seconds behind Verstappen after being handed a five-second penalty for colliding with Australian rookie Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen has an outside chance of wrapping up his third world title in Japan on September 24, with six races remaining. He has not lost since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30.
Hill, now a respected pundit with Sky, added: ‘Max has achieved something no-one else has ever done. Red Bull have won 14 races this year and it is an incredible record, but you can’t just put it down to the car.
‘This guy is special. Throughout Max’s career, from the moment he arrived in F1, he has done things no-one has done before and he continues to polish off this season.’
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