Toto Wolff backtracks in war of words with Max Verstappen:"Was it the most intelligent thing I could’ve said?' Maybe not"

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has backtracked in his recent war of words with Max Verstappen, admitting that he didn't use the best words in Monza.

The Red Bull driver broke the record for most consecutive F1 wins at Monza, with his tenth straight win of the season. Wolff was asked about the driver's record. In what seemed like a very dismissive tone, he replied that records don't mean much to him, as they're only meant for Wikipedia.

The comment came under the scanner as F1 pundits questioned the Mercedes boss' remarks. Wolff has now backtracked and said that his choice of words could have been better. As quoted by racingnews365, he said:

"Well, obviously when you look at the comment in the circumstance you can think: 'Was it the most intelligent thing I could’ve said?' Maybe not. It’s always been my mindset, it’s something I’ve taken from Niki (Lauda).

"Niki gave his trophies away to get a free car wash. You won’t find a lot of memorabilia in my place either because those numbers never mattered for the two of us."

He added:

"Formula 1 is a meritocracy, and I said it often during this year that only the best win (the) World Championships, and you need to recognise what a great job is being done there.

"And at the end, they will take another big trophy, and that is something that is the most valuable. The best person in the best car wins the World Championship."

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Max Verstappen's response to Toto Wolff's remarks in Monza

Max Verstappen had laughed off Toto Wolff's remarks, as he felt it was just because Mercedes did not have a great race. When asked if he was disappointed by Wolff's comments, Verstappen said:

“I’m not disappointed in that, but I mean they had a pretty sh*t race so probably he was still pissed off with their performance.

"He almost sounds like he’s an employee of our team sometimes, you know? But no, luckily, (he’s) not. I think it’s just important that you focus on your own team. That’s what we do as well."

Away from the off-track stuff, Max Verstappen will look to continue his winning juggernaut in Singapore. He has a 145-point lead in the driver standings with eight races to go.