Toto Wolff faces backlash from Rome taxi drivers after Verstappen comments

21:45, 03 Jun

byNorberto Mujica

After the Spanish Grand Prix, the talk of the town was nothing but the clash between Max Verstappen and George Russell. Toto Wolff also had his say, refusing to believe that Verstappen intentionally crashed into Russell. In an interview with the Italian press, he compared Verstappen's action to that of an enraged taxi driver. Taxi drivers from Rome have reacted to Wolff's remarks.

Better drivers than those in Formula 1

Speaking to Austrian outlet OE24, Loreno Bittarelli, president of a taxi association in Rome, joked: '"We are better than Formula 1 drivers, who wouldn't last an hour in Rome's city traffic. We drive among construction sites, motorcycles, e-scooters, and tourist buses. Rome is a jungle, far worse than a Formula 1 circuit."

According to Bittarelli, Roman taxi drivers are actually more cautious about aggressive driving: "We are the last people who would want an accident, otherwise we would lose our job."

Max Verstappen fell back to tenth place after the crash with George Russell. The Dutch driver was deemed at fault by the stewards and received a ten-second penalty. Additionally, the Dutch driver saw three points added to his license, bringing him to a total of eleven penalty points; twelve would result in a race ban.

This article was written in collaboration with Hidde Korte.