Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes great athletes like Max Verstappen often "think the world is against them", following the Dutchman's controversial clash with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen and Russell collided twice during Sunday's race, with the second clash at Turn 5 sparking controversy as the pair battled for fourth place.

Russell believed the second contact felt deliberate, while Verstappen admitted on Monday the move was indeed a mistake.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed shortly after that the Red Bull driver had apologised to the team.

Before Verstappen could accept the blame, Wolff reflected on the Dutchman's temperament, believing great athletes often thrive on intense external pressure.

"There's a pattern that I've recognised with the great ones, whether it's in motor racing or in other sports," the Mercedes boss said. "You just need to have the world against you, and then you perform at the highest possible level.

"That's why, sometimes, these greats don't recognise that, actually, the world is not against you, it's just you who made a mistake, or you've screwed up."

Wolff made reference to a tempered 2021 season where Verstappen and then-Mercedes talisman Lewis Hamilton were engaged in a season-long battle for the championship.

"We haven't seen any of these moments with Max for many years now," Wolff continued. "I know 2021, that happened, but I don't know where it comes from."

Max Verstappen posts his reaction to yesterday's race on Instagram #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/hxiNG3VFFZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 2, 2025

Russell finished fourth in Spain, behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

This was a significant improvement over his previous European race results, where he finished seventh in Imola and 11th in Monaco.

Meanwhile, team-mate Kimi Antonelli struggled with two engine failures, and failed to score points across any of the three races.

"It's difficult to see lots of positives, apart from the trajectory, which seemed to be a little bit better in tyre management," Wolff added.

"But we have to look at whether that was an engine failure with Kimi in Spain. It clearly looks like that at first sight. That is [normally] our strength, so we need to see where that comes from.

"But overall, it's important to understand the tyres because that is going to be a factor next year, an important factor next year, beyond all the sporting and technical regulations."

Mercedes now sit third in the Constructors' Championship, trailing leaders McLaren by 203 points.