Toto Wolff’s ‘horror show’ Max Verstappen comments must force Red Bull to take action

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was ecstatic after the Chinese Grand Prix, in complete contrast to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the second-youngest driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix after an almost perfect Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

He’s closed the gap to Mercedes teammate George Russell to four points in the drivers’ championship, but there are no prizes for guessing who holds the record for the sport’s youngest winner.

Max Verstappen won on his Red Bull debut as an 18-year-old nearly a decade ago, but his fortunes have turned since that momentous day.

The Dutchman doesn’t look like he’s going to be adding to his four world championships any time soon, and Sunday’s race didn’t go to plan for him or Red Bull.

Verstappen was forced to retire from the race, and speaking after Sunday’s Grand Prix, Toto Wolff suggested that the ‘horror show’ that he’s experiencing is a real problem for Red Bull.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen’s Chinese GP onboard camera looked ‘horrendous’

The Mercedes team principal spoke to the media, including Motorsport, after the Chinese Grand Prix, and when asked about the four-time world champion’s retirement, he said: “I mean, Max is really in a horror show.

“When you look at the onboard that he had in qualifying yesterday, that is just horrendous to drive. And you can see that, but it’s not the same with many other teams.”

Verstappen’s onboard didn’t look as bad as Fernando Alonso’s, as the Aston Martin driver had to retire from the race due to the vibrations of his car making it impossible to drive.

Asked about the race itself, Wolff said: “From an entertainment perspective, I believe that what we’ve seen today between Ferrari and Mercedes was good racing – many overtakes.

“We were all part of Formula 1 when there was no overtaking, literally. Sometimes we’re too nostalgic about the good old years, but I think the product is good in itself. We saw quite some racing in the midfield also, and that is, I think, the positive.

“Now, from a driver’s standpoint, when it comes to the balls-out qualifying lap, that is different. Clearly, lift and coast in qualifying, I’m sure, for someone like Max, who is a full attack guy, it’s difficult to cope with and digest.

“But it’s more, I would say, a car-specific issue that kind of magnifies the problem. Because if you sit in front of a TV or in front of a screen, even Max would say that was interesting racing in the front.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen explains why he retired from the Chinese Grand Prix

Verstappen had major issues getting off the line for both races in China, sinking to near the back of the grid on both occasions.

A battery issue caught Verstappen out in Australia, and as he explained in his official post-race media interview, he was struggling with similar problems in Shanghai.

“Same problem as yesterday in the start, so we were last again, and then tried to find my way forwards, but again [we had] the same problem as in the Sprint, where there was just a lot of deg, a lot of graining on the tyres,” explained Verstappen.

“That always makes it very complicated, and then we had to retire the car with the ERS [Energy Recovery System] cooling issues.”

Asked what Red Bull can do before the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix, the 28-year-old said: “Yeah, I mean a lot to learn from. It’s definitely not where we want to be, of course, but I also know that the team is giving it everything, so it’s frustrating for me, but also frustrating for them.

“At the end of the day, we need to try and figure it out together. We’ll, of course, try to be a bit better for Japan, but after that, we have a bit of a bigger break now that hopefully we can use to sort some stuff out.”