'Toto Wolff should just pay George Russell the victory bonus'

F1 News

Wolff told to pay Russell his win bonus from Belgium
1 August at 11:00
2
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

George Russell had his heart broken on Sunday. The British driver thought he had secured his third Grand Prix victory; in fact, he had already lifted the trophy and tasted the champagne on the podium. But it was stripped after his Mercedes car was found to be underweight. So, does that mean he still gets his winning bonus?

Russell started from P6 on the grid and crossed the finish line in first place. The Brit himself suggested switching to a one-stop strategy from the team radio, and he, therefore, held onto track position over his teammate. On very old tyres, Russell managed to keep Hamilton in his rear-view mirror after a battle in the last few laps. Former driver David Coulthard saw Russell do everything right in Belgium.

“I really feel for George [Russell] because that was arguably his greatest win in his short-winning career, and it slips away from him. So there's all sorts of ramifications, isn't there? If you take a managerial role, drivers typically have a win bonus in their contract," Coulthard said on his Formula For Success Podcast.

"It's the team that have underperformed and that the car is under the weight limit. So where do you sit in all that? Would you give a driver his just use if the car was qualified or is it only if the actual result stands?" wondered Coulthard.

Will Wolff pay Russell his win bonus?

Eddie Jordan, a former team boss himself, knows his way around a contract in Formula 1. “There is no real right way and there's no real wrong way on this one. And it comes down to compassion and it comes down to the relationship with the driver and the team and just generally. I know Toto. Toto is not a poor man. And he's very astute and very careful. He sees in George a world champion going forward," Jordan highlighted.

“Why not pay him the money? If there's a genuine mistake, which it looks as if it is, that's what he said in his press release. Pay him the money. George is not going to miss his next meal over whether he gets it or not. But the reality is you're Mercedes, you're a top team and you've been surprised how great this driver is. Pay him,” Jordan advises.