Brundle: Wolff and Hamilton wrong to 'play down' Verstappen record

Sky F1's Martin Brundle says he was both "surprised and disappointed" by Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton playing down Max Verstappen's record for the most consecutive wins in F1 which he achieved at Monza.

The dominant championship leader and Red Bull charger claimed in Italy his tenth win on the trot, surpassing the previous landmark held by himself and former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.

Verstappen's accomplishment was unanimously saluted by the media, buy the Dutchman's epic run appeared to leave the Mercedes camp in a sour mood.

Ahead of the race weekend, Hamilton suggested that Verstappen enjoyed an easy life at Red Bull, having never been paired with a strong teammate at the Milton Keynes-based outfit, unlike the Briton who insisted that he had faced a much stronger opposition over the years from those sitting on the other side of the Mercedes garage.

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And after Sunday's race when queried on Verstappen's ten-race win streak, Wolff suggested with a hint of contempt that the latter's record was only worthy of a mention in Wikipedia and "nobody reads that anyway".

The Mercedes' pair's comments left Brundle surprised and unimpressed.

"For Max Verstappen to win 10 consecutive races, along with Red Bull taking all 15 races so far this season, it’s truly something to behold," the ex-F1 driver wrote in his post-Italian Grand Prix column for Sky Sports.

"What an achievement to faultlessly keep up that level of performance and reliability on many different track layouts and in varying weather conditions, up against mighty opposition.

"Congratulations to each and every one of them!

“If a tennis player or football or rugby team for example was so utterly complete and dominant, they would rightly be globally lauded at the highest level, as should this pairing be," argued Brundle.

"Sport can and should be tribal, but you must surely also appreciate a level of excellence in others.

"So I was a little surprised and disappointed that Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff played down this achievement over the weekend because they rightly received their due reverence and appreciation during their years of total domination from 2014 to 2020."

While critical of Mercedes' 'sour grapes' attitude, Brundle conceded that past actions involving Red Bull, such as the team breaching its 2021 budget cap, and its frequent war of words with Mercedes have perhaps eroded its goodwill in the eyes of its principal adversary.

"At the same time Max and Red Bull will no doubt reflect on a few past actions and words which have diluted their current appreciation levels in some quarters," Brundle said.

"But it’s all to be expected when you put so many intensely competitive people into the same space."

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