"Those numbers... it's for Wikipedia," says a sniffy Toto Wolff as frustration clearly gets the better of him.

There is some debate over just who originated the claim that "to be second is to be the first of the losers", and while one can understand such sentiment the fact is that nobody likes a 'sore loser'.

In the aftermath of the Italian Grand Prix, Toto Wolff's familiar smile was missing in action, indeed his was a face of thunder.

His drivers had finished fifth and sixth, both having given a good account of themselves, especially considering the fact that the Monza circuit does not suit the W14, however it was clearly the fact that Max Verstappen had scored a historic tenth successive win that really galled him.

"I don't know if he cares about the records," he responded when asked about the Dutchman's achievement. "It's not something that would be important for me, those numbers.

"It's for Wikipedia," he added, "and nobody reads that anyway."

The Austrian was subsequently seen in conversation with Hamilton, the Mercedes team boss's face like thunder.

"Our situation was a little bit different," he told Sky Sports, "because we had two guys fighting against each other within the team," he said, echoing comments he made at Zandvoort last week in reference to the gap in qualifying between Verstappen and his teammate, Sergio Perez, a topic subsequently picked up on by Hamilton himself.

Of course, Wolff's mood wasn't helped by the fact that both his drivers had been penalised during the race, Hamilton for a clash with Oscar Piastri and George Russell, who was deemed to have passed Esteban Ocon by leaving the track and gaining a "lasting advantage"

"I think both penalties you can justify," said Wolff, "so we are going to look at that and how we can prevent it in the future.

"I think we maximised what was in there today," he added. "They both did a great job to make sure they didn't have any consequence for the finishing positions, they both just took it on the chin, got their heads down and kept on racing.

"But you need to be careful not to be too happy about a fifth and a sixth," he admitted. "We know that these low-downforce circuits are not our strong suit, and in fact I think we have seen progress over the season from Baku to Spa to here.

"The next race is Singapore, so back to high downforce and coming towards our direction a little bit more. It will be important for us to maximise that opportunity when it comes."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 06/09/2023 2:17

"@ Apexing...Apt description. I Like it. Failure feeds destabilisation and Wolff's future medical intervention will afford him some 'race relief'. If the 'Black Arrows' fail again at least he won't have to front the media one on one. Perhaps some long service leave for Wolff would ease the discomfort. Tough times for the team......

PS I am rapidly warming to Freddy Vasseurs disposition....I once labelled him as a 'grumpy guy'. I was wrong. He has a unique and endearing outlook. It's good."

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2. Posted by Apexing, 05/09/2023 15:14

"The new Bond villain: Thunderface?"

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 05/09/2023 14:48

"More yawndacious nonsense from Wolff, just as Verstappen is going to race[sic] to the WDC. Toto should leave the gutter press-friendly jibes to Horner, who has by far the best mentality for such drivel."

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4. Posted by Stitch431, 05/09/2023 6:37

"Just read this quote and could not think of a better answer:

"Toto "Wiki" Wolff a few years ago;
"I think we are witnesses of a career that is just amazing," the Mercedes Team Principal told Sky Sports. "The 100th race victory is just mind-blowing.
"Today we talk about it. It's going to be in the news for 24 hours, but only many years down the line we're going to realize that we've been part of it."

Well, not really, Toto.
turns out it's not that great - it's just for Wikipedia. But nobody reads that…""

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5. Posted by kenji, 05/09/2023 1:43

"Wolff thinks that we'll all mistake his petulance for passion! Hardly. "

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6. Posted by Burton, 04/09/2023 17:17

"Wolff and Horner should be threatened with the "bringing the sport into disrepute" clause for playing right into the toxicity of the Pessi vs. Penaldo social media idiotic "fandom"."

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7. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 04/09/2023 16:53

"Verstappen could win every race till the end of the season. Would Toto be just as dismissive? "

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8. Posted by Defiant, 04/09/2023 16:10

"Me finks the lady doth protest too much"

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9. Posted by F1nerd, 04/09/2023 8:53

"I like Wolff's "Face of Thunder" it put's a smile on my face."

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10. Posted by Kkiirmki, 04/09/2023 7:39

"So an eight title for Hamilton is not something they really care about at Mercedes then either?"

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Wolff dismissive of Verstappen's record winning streak

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