{"id":954722,"date":"2026-11-06T12:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T12:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/954722\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T12:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T12:44:09","slug":"max-verstappen-responds-to-toto-wolff-claim-over-f1-champion-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/954722\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen responds to Toto Wolff claim over F1 champion image"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Verstappen<\/a> has delivered a muted response to Mercedes<\/a> boss Toto Wolff\u2019s claim that Kimi Antonelli\u2019s title win has reflected a culture change among drivers in Formula 1.<\/p>\n

Antonelli sealed the Drivers\u2019 Championship with third place last weekend in Mexico, becoming the youngest champion in F1 history at the tender age of 20 years and 68 days.<\/p>\n

Toto Wolff\u2019s suggestion receives muted response from drivers<\/p>\n

Later that evening, Wolff argued that the Italian\u2019s approach to winning his maiden title should show others that a driver can succeed in the sport without resorting to dubious tactics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI discussed it with someone else, with Mohammed [Ben Sulayem, FIA President],\u201d the Austrian began.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis notion of \u2018win at all costs\u2019, selfish, opportunistic, ruthless for your own benefit \u2013 that model of racing driver has died.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a new champion that represents values like humility, like integrity, loyalty, respect, being himself. [He] should be a role model for many other young drivers in junior formulas, and should be a role model for the few young entitled ones in Formula 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe endless moaners on the radio, the ones that complain, the ones that crash. Look at this kid of 20 years [of age], and then think what we can do in order to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the message to these kids. That is how the FIA, that Mohammed, that Stefano [Domenicali, Formula 1 president and CEO], that\u2019s how I would want to see racing drivers in the future. That is modern Formula 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cKimi represents the modern Formula 1 driver because of those values. Not only because of his talent \u2013 that counts \u2013 but the talent is there with everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be a good person too, and he has demonstrated that you can beat everyone out there by being a good person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verstappen, in particular, has divided opinion since his arrival on the F1 scene, with numerous rivals taking aim at his uncompromising driving in wheel-to-wheel combat.<\/p>\n

More from the Brazilian GP<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc Ferrari tension addressed by Bottas<\/a><\/p>\n

George Russell explains Mexican GP decision after Mercedes fined<\/a><\/p>\n

But when asked to give his view on Wolff\u2019s take, the Dutchman argued that it is beneficial for the series to have contrasting personalities, both on and off the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, everyone is entitled to their opinion, right?\u201d Verstappen highlighted ahead of this weekend\u2019s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have nothing else to say, really. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person is different, anyway. I think that\u2019s what is good for Formula 1 because if everyone has the same personality, it\u2019s very boring. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe, maybe not. Who knows? It\u2019s impossible to know, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolff\u2019s comment was also posed to Fernando Alonso, but the two-time F1 champion was even more unwilling to be drawn into the debate, as he provided no vocal response.<\/p>\n

Read next: Liam Lawson faces fresh Racing Bulls uncertainty after CEO\u2019s revealing admission<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen has delivered a muted response to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff\u2019s claim that Kimi Antonelli\u2019s title win…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":954723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,152821,817,813,816,818,10115,825,44,918,85,4703],"class_list":["post-954722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-brazilian-grand-prix","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-home-page","tag-kimi-antonelli","tag-max-verstappen","tag-news","tag-red-bull","tag-sports","tag-toto-wolff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/954723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}