Wolff's interesting take on the Verstappen Russell Spanish GP clash

Wolff, contrary to what one may expect, did not launch a scathing attack on Verstappen, who appeared to have deliberately driven into Russell in Turn 5.

Verstappen and Russell were fighting for track position after the Safety Car restart, the former struggling on cold Hard tyres, but in Turn 1, Russell ran wide, pushing Verstappen to the escape road and rejoining ahead of the Mercedes.

Red Bull Racing asked their driver to cede the position, wary of getting a penalty, but Verstappen was not amused, and while he appeared to be giving Russell space to pass, he then accelerated and bumped into him.

The FIA later deemed the Turn 1 incident a racing incident, taking no action, which meant Verstappen was right not to cede his position but gave him a ten-second time penalty for the one at Turn 5, which dropped him to tenth off the grid.

While Russell proceeded after the incident, attacking Verstappen and revealing his disrespect for his rival, Wolff took a calmer path while commenting on the incident.

"I just heard, actually, that Max had the call to let him pass, right? I didn’t know," Wolff commented. "We were under the impression in the race that he had a problem with the car, and that’s why he was so slow getting out of [Turn 4].

"I mean, if it was road rage, which I can’t imagine, because it was too obvious, then it’s not good. But the thing is, I don’t know what he aimed for. Did he want to let George pass and immediately repass, put George the car ahead? Then, like the old DRS games, letting him pass the right way?

"Or… for me, it’s just incomprehensible. But again, I don’t know exactly what the motivations were, and I don’t want to jump on it and saying, you know, this was road rage, et cetera. Let’s see what his arguments are. It wasn’t nice," he maintained.

Wolff was pushed by the interviewer to discuss Verstappen's on-track tactics, to which he responded: "You know, there’s a pattern that I’ve read, the great ones, whether it’s in motor racing or in other sports, you just need to have the world against you and perform at the highest possible level.

"That’s why sometimes these greats don’t recognize that actually the world is not against you, it’s just you who has… you have made a mistake or you’ve screwed up, et cetera, et cetera.

"So, we haven’t seen any of these moments with Max for many years now. Obviously, I know the year 2021 that happened, and I don’t know where it comes from," Wolff concluded.

He was referring to the bitter fight in the 2021 Formula 1 season between Verstappen and then Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton that saw the pair clash spectacularly on several occasions on track.

Regardless, it is interesting the manner in which Wolff dealt with the latest Verstappen clash with a Mercedes driver...

Does that have anything to do with the rumors linking the four-time F1 champion with a Mercedes seat in the future and Wolff avoiding the burning of bridges?

Russell's contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the current season.