Toto Wolff hands Max Verstappen key advice: 'You've screwed up'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has handed Max Verstappen key advice after the Dutchman "screwed up" in the Spanish Grand Prix, that the world is not against him.

Verstappen received three penalty points and a 10-second time penalty for driving into George Russell at Turn 5 in the closing stages, in a shock red mist moment. 

It was the four-time world champion's first major incident since forcing Lando Norris off the circuit in Mexico City last year, where he was also penalised heavily.

Wolff is a keen admirer of Verstappen and has been heavily linked to trying to sign the Red Bull driver in recent years, but does believe he went too far with Russell in the Spanish GP. 

Verstappen painted a frustrated figure in the media pen post-race, before addressing his actions on social media a day after and described his move on Russell as "not right".

In Wolff's eyes, there is no doubting the 27-year-old is one of the all-time F1 greats and thrives when people are against him. 

However, the Austrian has also highlighted a clear message that a pattern amongst all the greats is sometimes struggling to accept when a mistake has been made.

"There's a pattern that I've recognised with the great ones, whether it's in motor racing or in other sports," Wolff told select media, including RacingNews365 in Barcelona. 

"You just need to have the world against you, and then you perform at the highest possible levels.

"And that's why sometimes these greats don't recognise that actually the world is not against you, it's just you who has made a mistake, or you've screwed up, etc, etc. 

"So we haven't seen any of these moments with Max for many years now. Obviously I know the year 2021, that happened, and I don't know where it comes."