Damon Hill brands Toto Wolff ‘churlish’ following the Mercedes principal’s dismissal of Max Verstappen record

Damon Hill has branded Toto Wolff “churlish” and “ungracious” after dismissing Max Verstappen’s record win at the Italian Grand Prix. The Dutch driver, 25, made Formula 1 history at the weekend after winning 10 consecutive races, a first in the sport’s 73-year history.

But within hours of the race, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called Verstappen’s record “completely irrelevant” adding that the record was only “for Wikipedia, and nobody reads that anyway”. Responding to the comments, 1996 World Champion Damon Hill said: “It sounded a bit churlish and not very gracious.

“It’s unlike Toto because he’s usually very sporting. But he is hurting a bit now. They know what it is like to be dominant and they didn’t even get on the podium in Monza.T hey seem to be a bit stymied and can’t seem to work out what to do. But who can? It seems like everywhere we go, Red Bull has got the upper hand.”

Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in fifth and sixth respectively during the weekend race at Monza. Seven-time World Champion Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty after colliding with Oscar Piastri, but revealed afterwards that he apologised to the driver, taking account of the collision.

Last week the British driver, 38, signed a new contract with Mercedes for the next two years. The contract is worth around £100 million, despite the driver going 37 races without winning a race.

Verstappen has now won 12 out of the 14 races of the 2023 season and has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of April. The two-time World Champion could secure his third title in Japan on September 24 with six races left to go before the end of the season.

Red Bull also remain on course to be just the third team to secure a whole year unbeaten. Hill spoke to Sky Sports, where he added:“Max has achieved something no-one else has ever done.

“Red Bull have won 14 races this year and it is an incredible record, but you can’t just put it down to the car. This guy is special. Throughout Max’s career, from the moment he arrived in F1, he has done things no-one has done before and he continues to polish off this season.”