Toto Wolff: George Russell’s approach is more “intellectual” than Max Verstappen’s win it or bin it approach
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George and Max
Toto Wolff the Mercedes team Principal has recently compared the two young starlets that Mercedes and Red Bull have got in their camps. He has recently talked about the driving approaches of George and Max.
Max Verstappen over the years has developed himself a reputation of an all-in or all-out kind of a guy due to his highly aggressive driving style. Last season there were quite a few moments when the Dutchman’s aggressive style came to everyone’s notice.
Toto Wolff himself is not a big fan of Verstappen’s driving style and following last season’s crash at Silverstone, in which Hamilton was adjudged to have been at fault having collided with Verstappen’s rear wheel and sent him on a 51g-impact with the barrier, the Austrian said he had “no remorse” over the incident.
“There wasn’t a lot of feeling of remorse on our side.”
“Lewis has given up corners much more often before where he shouldn’t have.”
Lewis himself commented on the incident after the race and said, “I just don’t feel he needs to be as aggressive as he is.”
Toto Wolff compares driving styles of Max Verstappen and George Russell
Toto Wolff has recently commented on the driving styles of George and Max and believes George’s racing approach is superior as compared to Max’s over-the-top aggressive driving style.
“I think Max’s approach – and this is George’s phrase since he was in go-karting – is ‘win it or bin it.“
“George approaches it more from an intellectual standpoint while having all the skills.”
This season’s battle between Russell and Hamilton is one of the most talked-about storylines and Toto believes it would be impossible to change Russell’s mindset at this stage of his racing career.
“You can’t tell a man that has been in a go-kart from the age of six, having been sent out in the rain alone, that ‘now you’re a part of the team, you need to drive for the team.”
“It’s ingrained in them to be alone out there – to be opportunistic.”
Russell himself has previously said that he won’t hesitate to go past Hamilton if it came down to him and Lewis for the driver’s championship during the 2022 season.
“In an ideal world, we just want to be battling one another.”
“We don’t want to be battling with the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. So we need to work together and push each other to be able to achieve that.”
“I want to win… obviously. I want to win today. But you give me the choice of winning today and having an average future, or learning today and then 10 years of success – it’s an easy choice.”
Things haven’t panned out as per Russell’s expectations so far during the 2022 season and it seems Mercedes would be facing competition from Red Bull and Ferrari for the 2022 drivers title.
Given Mercedes is a bit behind Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of pace, it is going to be interesting to see how Russell and Hamilton are going to handle their business while on track.
Also Read: Toto Wolff: Acknowledgment by FIA of “human error” is a good step forward
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)