Toto Wolff said the stewards’ decision to hand Max Verstappen a 20-second penalty at the 2024 Mexico GP was good as he calls out his ‘dirty driving’ as he says he was reminded of the 2021 F1 season.
Verstappen almost crashed into Norris twice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as the Red Bull and earned two 10-second time penalties for pushing the McLaren off at Turn 4 before leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 7.
And the drama on Lap 10 prompted widespread criticism of the Dutchman for his reckless and endangering driving against his title rival, who later suggested the weekend was a success because the Brit didn’t win the October 27 race, with Wolff going as far as labelling it ‘dirty driving’ as he calls Verstappen out.
“I think it was a really good steward decision,” Wolff told OE24.com. “And that it makes it clear for the future that this dirty driving is no longer allowed.
“So a horrendous penalty of 20 seconds is the right precedent to set to ensure that something like this does not happen in the future.
“This is déjà vu for me. Only in this case it’s not about us, but about Norris. Although the animosity between Norris and Verstappen is not as great as it was between Hamilton and Verstappen, or Red Bull, in 2021.”
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The Austrian, of course, is talking about countless incidents in which Verstappen left little-to-no space throughout the season whilst trying to race Hamilton for his first ever championship, with notable flashpoints at the Emilia Romagna GP, Italian GP, Brazilian GP and Saudi Arabian GP.
Consistently the stewards seemed unwilling to punish the Dutchman. For example he got away with pushing Hamilton off at Imola, Monza and Interlagos to prevented him from being passed by his rival in a year where every point mattered as they headed into the final round with equal tallies.
Wolff: Verstappen-Norris fight great for the show
When there is a title fight, Formula 1 naturally spikes in interest with the 2021 season being one of the most watched seasons in the history of the sport, and 2024 will no doubt be undergoing a similar effect after the draining 2023 campaign.
So every time Verstappen and Norris go wheel-to-wheel and end up off the track, as well as the countless different winners throughout the campaign, profits continue to look greener and fans continue to be satisfied and Wolff said when that happens, everyone in F1 wins.
“For the show, it’s great, we all benefit from it, including me as co-owner of a team,” Wolff added to OE24.com. “If the show is good, then business will follow. “In Mexico, there was a little something for everyone.
“Sainz‘s performance, Leclerc‘s underperformance, Perez‘s non-performance, accidents that polarise opinion, our drivers as fierce competitors. But our top priority is to win.”
