F1 News

Russell unhappy with Wolff but Mercedes team boss understands

Wolff almost caused Russell to crash: 'Dumbest thing in 12 years'

30 June at 17:24
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  • Estéban den Toom

Afterwards, Toto Wolff had to laugh about it. He even called it 'the dumbest thing he had done in 12 years at Mercedes'. When the Austrian team boss saw Max Verstappen and Lando Norris with flat tyres following their crash, Wolff did not hesitate for a moment. He immediately pressed the button on George Russell's radio to say: "You can win this, George". But that was at the wrong time...

Normally, team members who want to communicate with a driver look at where exactly they are on the track before a message is passed on. Sudden speech when a driver is in a key moment of concentration must be avoided. When Wolff spoke into Russell's ear, he was just braking in turn three of the circuit.

Wolff regrets his action

“I could have taken him out with that message,” Wolff looked back on that moment with GPblog and others. “This one is the silly, dumbest things I've done in 12 years at Mercedes. I will be forever ashamed of this because you look at where you message the driver. You don't do it on braking or in high-speed corners. But I didn't look on the GPS where he was. I just saw these two taking each other out, and we anticipated it and then just emotionally pushed the button."

That could have shocked Russell enormously, with all its consequences. “Imagine how that could have been. So I'm emotional, I enjoy us doing well, and I enjoy seeing Lewis and George doing well, and I was just carried away with that situation. That's what he said afterwards, but it's seriously embarrassing."