Peter Windsor slams Toto Wolff’s ‘disrespectful’ treatment of Lewis Hamilton on team radio at Austrian GP

Wolff was in agreement that the W14 was poor at Austria, but was very aggressive in asking Hamilton to stop his complaints.

Peter Windsor slams Toto Wolff’s ‘disrespectful’ treatment of Lewis Hamilton on team radio at Austrian GP

Peter Windsor, Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton(Credits: The Independent, SI, News9Live)

During the Austrian GP, Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton engaged in a tense exchange over the team radio. Wolff made aggressive efforts to refocus Hamilton’s attention, urging him to refrain from complaining about the car’s performance and focus on the task. Pundit Peter Windsor perceives this behavior as disrespectful on Wolff’s part.

When speaking on his YouTube live stream, the pundit expressed his shock at the treatment Lewis Hamilton was subject to by Wolff, given that he is a seven-time world champion. He also mentioned that Wolff’s comments left a bitter taste in his mouth after hearing his response to Lewis Hamilton’s complaints.

YouTube video

“There was a comment from Toto Wolff two-thirds of the way through the race which, for me, left a little bit of a bad taste in the mouth because it was Lewis again going on about track limits. It was a bit like that comment to Charles Leclerc in Canada – a bit schoolmaster talking to the pupil – and he said: ‘Yes, Lewis, we know the car is bad. Get on and drive the race, please’”, said Peter Windsor.

He added, “And, to speak to Lewis like that – ‘get on and race’ – this guy’s a seven-times World Champion, he does deserve a little bit more respect than that, I think.”
Thus, the former Williams boss believes Toto Wolff should take a different approach when addressing Hamilton’s concerns on team radio, giving him the respect a driver of his stature warrants.

Related: “You should hear us talking,” Toto Wolff reveals how the heated Austrian GP interaction will affect Lewis Hamilton’s contract extension

Toto Wolff justifies his stern message to Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Credits: The Guardian)
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Credits: The Guardian)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff clarified that his intervention over the team radio during the Austrian Grand Prix was aimed at “calming things down” during a challenging event for the team. Lewis Hamilton and his W14 were way off the pace of the frontrunners in Austria. His struggles were only mounted on with the several track limit violations he accumulated.

When questioned about his decision to intervene on the team radio, Wolff stated that he believed it was in the best interests of the team. He expressed his intention to ensure that the team was maximizing the potential of their car and giving it their best effort. Wolff emphasized that his actions were motivated by the well-being of both the drivers and the team as a whole.

He acknowledged that there are moments when it becomes necessary to step in and calm things down to maintain focus and optimize performance. Toto Wolff described the day as “bruising” and highlighted the team’s struggles during the race. He mentioned that the car lacked the desired speed, which became apparent from Friday’s practice sessions onwards.

The Austrian acknowledged that they could not extract necessary performance from the car, and it seemed that they were lacking a few tenths or possibly even more in terms of overall pace. It will be intriguing to see whether the Brackley-based team can make a strong comeback at the British GP, where they are no strangers to success.

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