Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has made no secret of his regret over his reaction to Max Verstappen's accident on the first lap of the 2021 British Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were battling for the lead when they collided at the Stowe corner. This shock propelled the Red Bull driver towards a wall of tires. This is where the Batavian's car came to a crashing halt, with a force of 51 G. Judged responsible, Lewis Hamilton received a 10-second penalty. However, this penalty did not prevent him from winning the race. For his part, Max Verstappen was taken to hospital to undergo more in-depth examinations.
Toto Wolff says he regrets, as a father, having failed to contact Jos Verstappen to inquire about his son's state of health. Mercedes simply relied on the words of a Red Bull engineer who assured that the 27-year-old driver was doing well.
“These guys had fought, not only in the first round, but they had fought all season, and I think it was a moment where both decided not to give up that corner “said Wolff on the High Performance Podcast. “And it ended in a situation where, luckily, Max wasn't hurt. I said before, I could have reacted in a better way, because I heard one of the Red Bull engineers say that he was doing well in that regard. I said to myself 'check the box Max is fine', and we went on to win the race, without him scoring any points.”
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“It was therefore important to bounce back in the championship. I felt like the driving wasn't always impeccable and in retrospect I should have picked up the phone and called Jos to ask if he was okay.”
“Now, Jos would have clearly told me what he thought about this situation, but that's fine. But I should have, as a father, called the driver's father and asked him [s’il allait bien]which I did not do. ”
“There were many other cases that year that did not meet the standards we all expect of each other”, concluded the Mercedes team director.
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