Wolff vs. Verstappen: Taxi comparison causes excitement in Rome!

Wolff vs. Verstappen: Taxi comparison causes excitement in Rome!

Rom, Italien - After the exciting Formula 1 race in Barcelona, ​​Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes, got in the headlines when he criticized Max Verstappen for his aggressive driving style. Wolff pulled a sharp comparison and described Derstappen's driving style as that of an "angry taxi driver in Rome", which promptly brought him fierce criticism. Loreno Bittarelli, the President of the Roman Taxi Association 3570, reacted humorously to this remark and explained that Formula 1 pilots would not survive in the hectic traffic.

In his answer, Bittarelli described Roman city traffic as a "jungle" that the worse was a Formula 1 route. He and other taxi drivers accused Wolff of spreading wrong stereotypes over their driving behavior. Bittarelli emphasized that taxi drivers do not want to cause accidents because this would affect their everyday work. Nicola di Giacobbe, a spokesman for the Taxi Filmt-Cgil taxi union, also noticed a deterioration in the traffic situation in Rome, in which you now need 30 minutes for two kilometers. He also described the Roman taxi drivers as the "most clever pilots".

Verstappen and the media disputes

While the minds around Wolff's statements calm down, the controversy around Max Verstappen and his choice of words do not fail to materialize in official media events. Wolff had previously spoken out for a ban on certain aspects of the curse in Formula 1. This happened after Verstappen had made an proclamation during a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix, which led to a punishment outside the route.

The reaction did not long for a long time: he did not give complete answers at the following press conferences and held his own media rounds outside of the official FIA events. This led to concern among drivers, including George Russell, the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, about the dealings of the FIA ​​with the situation. The FIA, under the direction of President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, held on to its position on the subject and showed that team radios should possibly be banned if drivers do not adhere to the rules.

The statistics of Verstappen

Max Verstappen remains an overwhelming presence in Formula 1. 2023, he set the record for most victory rounds in one season (1003) and for most leadership kilometers (4914). He also celebrated the most victories in a row and has secured the biggest point lead of a world champion with 290 points. These successes catapulted these successes to the top of the current Formula 1 statistics, where he is considered one of the best drivers in history.

The performance of the Dutch driver is supported by many other statistics, including the recent period between the first and last victory, which lingered for Lewis Hamilton over 2007 to 2021. Verstappen himself was recognized as the youngest Grand Prix winner at only 18 years and 228 days when he won in Spain in 2016. His career shows a remarkable bandwidth of records, which are now still in the crosshairs of the motorsport community.