Overview

• On June 1, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff likened Max Verstappen’s last-lap collision with George Russell at the Barcelona Grand Prix to a “furious” Roman taxi driver.
• Loreno Bittarelli, president of Rome’s Taxi Association, called the stereotype false and quipped that Formula 1 drivers couldn’t survive an hour in the city’s “jungle” traffic.
• Taxi Filmt-Cgil spokesman Nicola Di Giacobbe joked that Romans drive “as slowly as Mercedes” in the city’s congested streets.
• Verstappen received a 10-second penalty for the collision and now faces the possibility of a race ban.
• The episode highlights the contrasting challenges of high-speed racing and navigating dense urban traffic in Rome.