Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has claimed that his Williams counterpart James Vowles should have avoided calling Mick Schumacher not a “special” driver in Formula 1.
Both Schumacher and Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson were touted as the immediate options when it became clear Logan Sargeant’s place was being discussed.
But Lawson’s contractual obligation to Red Bull denied a potential loan deal, which seemed to open the door for Schumacher to receive the F1 reprieve he has desired.
However, Vowles opted to overlook Schumacher’s services, as Williams announced that Franco Colapinto has been given the chance to complete the last nine rounds.
Vowles explained that Schumacher not being a standout name led to the decision to go with an internal name with Colapinto, who has been with Williams since 2023.
Asked about Vowles’ comments, Wolff, whose team has used Schumacher as a reserve driver across the past two seasons, adopted a diplomatic stance on the topic.
“I know James in such a long time and he’s a bright mind and he finds his feet in the team principal’s role,” Wolff said.
“And I think, you know, he will have chosen his words.
“Mick is someone that has won pretty much everything. F4, F3, F2. He’s been, I guess, crushed in the Haas environment at that stage. And we have not seen it.
“But every team needs to take his own decisions.
“And for the best interest of the team, and then also to decide how it wants to talk about their drivers in the media. And so everybody needs to do this in a way that they think is good.”
However, Wolff hardened his tone later on as he expressed that ex-colleague Vowles ought to have not been as harsh in his assessment of Schumacher’s credentials.
“I’ve obviously known James for many years, he’s a strategist,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“Sometimes he says things too straightforwardly. That was a statement he could have done without.
“Mick has won everything there is to win, from F4, F3 and F2, and then of course operated in an environment with Guenther [Steiner], who is brutally tough and that was perhaps not what he needed to develop as a driver.
“That’s why he deserved the chance. If you don’t give it to him, you shouldn’t comment on it, you should let everyone live. That’s my opinion.”
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