Italian taxi drivers have fired back at Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who made a light-hearted but controversial comparison in the wake of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Commenting on Max Verstappen's aggressive move on George Russell in Barcelona — which Lando Norris likened to Mario Kart — Wolff told Sky Italia: "It was like certain taxi drivers in Rome or Naples, who go crazy in traffic."
But in the world of Formula 1, no comment goes unnoticed — and Wolff's remark has now drawn public criticism from Rome's taxi community.
"We're better than the Formula 1 drivers, who wouldn't even survive an hour in Rome's city traffic," said Loreno Bittarelli, president of the Roman taxi association Cooperativa Radiotaxi 3570.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Bittarelli continued: "We drive between construction sites, motorcycles, e-scooters, tourist buses. Rome is a jungle — much worse than a Formula 1 track."
While some might read his comments as tongue-in-cheek, Bittarelli insisted that Wolff should avoid making "false stereotypes."
"We're the first ones who don't want to have accidents, because otherwise we'd lose the day's work," he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Nicola di Giacobbe, head of the Italian federation of transport workers Filt-Cgil.
"We drive as slowly as Mercedes here in Rome," he joked.
"We are the most skilled drivers of all. But the traffic situation in this city is catastrophic. It now takes 30 minutes to cover two kilometres."