Toto Wolff has condemned accusations of bias in how he has managed his drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with the Mercedes team principal describing those positing such theories as better off watching “Teletubbies or Mickey Mouse” rather than Formula One.
With Antonelli leading Russell by 84 points in the world championship as they go into this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the Italian’s first title is within his reach. The 20-year-old has driven superbly in only his second season in F1 but Russell has struggled with poor fortune and reliability issues that have stymied his championship challenge.
At the last round, in Malaysia, an engine failure cost Russell a potential podium spot and led to a host of accusations online of bias towards Antonelli. Speaking in Singapore, Wolff’s exasperation was clear.
“They’re brainless, whoever thinks that, it’s completely nonsensical,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. Do they think I have a button that says: ‘George, engine failure now’? Or disadvantaging one driver against the other when we are fighting for a constructors’ championship when we have always had the mindset of providing everybody equal material?
“There’s a lot of polarisation and sometimes I read what people write. I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team or myself. I’m Satan, I’ve heard. So, overall funny. But really, zero understanding and respect for people who come up with these things. Rather than watching Formula One, they should do Teletubbies or some Mickey Mouse.”
Russell goes into Sunday’s night race on the Marina Bay circuit clinging on in the title fight. Not only did the engine failure cost him in Malaysia but it meant he has had to take a new engine for this race and with the attendant penalties will have to start from the back of the grid on a track where overtaking is enormously tricky.
Mercedes have further complications in Singapore. The upgrades they brought to Malaysia did not prove effective and have left the team somewhat perplexed as to why they had not delivered. They opted, with Russell’s approval, to split their options this weekend with the British driver reverting to the spec with which he had won in Baku and Antonelli running the new version in order to provide an insight into where the developments were wanting.
In qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race, Russell was clearly enjoying his pre-upgrade ride more than his teammate. He took second on the grid with Antonelli only in seventh, while Max Verstappen took an excellent pole to back up his win at Sepang. Antonelli certainly felt he was somewhat under the cosh in Singapore with a car far removed from what he is used to. “There is still a lot to understand about this package, the car is very difficult, very unpredictable,” he said. “I was coming in with high hopes but so far it has been very difficult. It’s going to be a difficult weekend, it’s going to be very tricky. I don’t see where we can find seven-tenths.”
Mercedes are clear they will continue to allow their drivers to race one another. Wolff, who managed three seasons of increasingly intense and rancorous rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg between 2014 and 2016, has always been insistent that he has practised even-handed management since he joined F1. He cited a conversation he had with Alain Prost about his bitter rivalry with Ayrton Senna while at McLaren in the 1980s.
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“I remember being a complete rookie and running into Alain Prost on the grid of a race and I said: ‘Why did it go so wrong between you and Senna?’ He said: ‘Because we never knew what the team was about. You felt that you were the flavour of the month one time and then two months later you thought the politics were going against you. There were different situations where you had the feeling that you’re really not wanted.’
“So, I took it as my challenge to keep it always balanced and it was not easy with Lewis and Nico back in the day. That’s why people can think what they want but the integrity in that respect is something that’s important for me, and the drivers know it.”
Russell has admitted Antonelli has done a better job overall this season, while also noting that he would have expected to still be in the fight were it not for some of the problems he has suffered. He looked quick on the Marina Bay circuit on Friday but still has a huge task to come through the field on Sunday.
Antonelli’s advantage is such that if he is 101 points ahead after this meeting, he could become F1’s youngest world champion at the next round in Austin. A title, as Wolff would doubtless attest, that will have been won purely on merit.
