“We love the fans, but it shouldn’t get personal”: Toto Wolff unimpressed with Silverstone and Dutch crowd’s inappropriate behaviour
Follow Us
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff
Being one of the most celebrated racers in the history of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton has had his fair share of criticisms every time he could not meet with the ever-increasing expectations of the motorsports enthusiasts. The seven-time World Champion is currently going through a career low in 2022 as he has not been able to get a race win in the ten Grands Prix that have happened till now in this season. The fans are not happy with this, and there have been talks about the 37-year-old retiring from F1.
While Lewis Hamilton has seen the ugly face of fame, it is quite new for the reigning World Champion Max Verstappen. The young Dutchman had a fierce rivalry with Hamilton last season, and he came out victorious in the Abu Dhabi GP after a lot of controversies. And the devoted fans of Lewis Hamilton never took kindly to Verstappen because they feel the Red Bull racer stole Hamilton’s eighth World Championship title from him.
And thus, in Silverstone this year, Verstappen was booed by the audience on two separate occasions, and Lewis’ Boss Toto Wolff has condemned the misbehaviour of the fans.
Toto Wolff says booing Max Verstappen and cheering when Lewis Hamilton crashed “does not really show sportsmanship”
Even though Toto Wolff is the Team Principal of Mercedes, and his allegiance lies with Lewis Hamilton, he could not agree with Hamilton’s fans when they booed at Max Verstappen because the Austrian believed it did not show the true spirit of sportsmanship. While speaking of the Silverstone incident, Toto Wolff also brought up the topic of the Austrian fans in Spielberg cheering loudly as Lewis Hamilton crashed during Qualifying on Friday.
In Toto Wolff’s words, “Both examples do not really show sportsmanship. When there’s applause after a driver’s crash, you have to ask yourself whether you understand the sport.”
He continued, “Booing isn’t good either. We all fight as teams for a good result and are not happy when we lose, but booing is a personal attack on a driver. Fans should ask themselves how they would feel if it happened to them. We love the fans, we want them to be here and they’re passionate, but it shouldn’t get personal.”
As both Lewis Hamilton’s as well as George Russell’s Mercedes’ crashed during the Qualifying for the Sprint Race in Austria, the engineers had to do a lot of repairs as the damages were considerable. Lewis’ chassis had to be replaced, but he will be able to go out during the Sprint on Saturday, thanks to the swift work by the Mercedes technicians.
Read More: WATCH: George Russell spotted with his gorgeous girlfriend courtside enjoying a Miami Heat game
Read More: Sebastian Vettel to not appear on F1 TV shows: “I’m not going to be a TV pundit.”
Stay Updated!
Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)