I have some very specific thoughts on Toto, George’s relationship with him, and the maxcedes rumours, if anyone wants to hear:
We as a fanbase really need to realise that what we see is what they want us to see, that there is a lot happening behind the scenes (in fact majority of the interactions happen behind closed doors) and so we won’t really have an objective picture on some events/current affairs.
Something that I see being spread around a lot, including by George fans, is the whole “if Max called, Toto would get rid of George immediately to get him into Mercedes“. That is simply not true. Toto was interested in Max back in 2024, before signing Kimi. After having signed Kimi, he has since repeatedly reiterated that he is happy with their current lineup, that there will be no change, that he is not interested in bringing in Max anymore.
What his problem is (and I believe he’s doing that on purpose) is that he’s not LOUD enough with these statements. Why? Because he benefits from people speculating about it, because it keeps him and the team in the headlines. As they say, any publicity is good publicity. In fact, George himself has recently said this in some interview, that even bad publicity is good publicity - that is definitely something he got fed directly from Toto.
One thing about Toto that George has said even back when he was still teammates with Lewis, and has since repeated even this year, is that Toto is very honest with him - and I do believe that is truly the case. I don’t see why George would lie about that fact if he had any doubts about his seat; there is no reason to publicly disclose how close him and Toto are, there is no reason to ‘protect’ him from the favouritism backlash in this sense. If anything, if George actually had any doubts about his future in the team, he would want to plant the seeds out there that he’s not being supported internally enough, to strengthen his position.
What I think is actually happening is that George knows very well that his seat is not in any danger. He knows Toto is just playing the media game with all these maxcedes rumours, and that’s why he’s not worried. He has also said several times he doesn’t really care what the media say/write about him.
Personally, I think that’s his biggest weakness - the media play such a big role in this sport nowadays, and those rumours directly affect his marketability. At the same time, if he wants to stay with Mercedes for the next decade or so, he probably doesn’t care about his position on the drivers’ market because he is not looking to move. However, I still think it’s an issue that he should care about. I think he should push back against this narrative that Toto is painting, where he’s flirting with/courting Max publicly, even if he knows that Toto isn’t serious about it.
Ultimately, he just trusts his word. “Toto told me, ‘You drive and I will take care of the rest’.”
I know many fans, including myself, often get frustrated with Toto. But do I believe he genuinely wants to kick George out, and George is just too blind and too loyal to see it? No. More likely, we just don’t see enough of their relationship to be able to judge.
At the end of the day, I trust my driver and his judgement over anyone else. If George says Toto is incredibly supportive to him, I guess I will have to accept that I don’t see into the intricate details of their relationship. (That won’t stop me from whacking Torger when needed, though.)
This isn’t meant to be shade towards anyone btw, I just think it’s a bit of a disservice to George himself to paint him as a perpetual victim that his whole team secretly dislikes :(
