Wolff cannot explain why the gap between Russell and Antonelli is so large

While Kimi Antonelli could celebrate his first title in Mexico, his team-mate George Russell could find himself fifth in the standings on the very same day. That is by no means unlikely: all it would take is a repeat of the exact result we saw in Austin. Russell’s struggles are now beginning to concern the team’s management too.

Whatever you think of the dynamic between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and whatever you make of the way Ferrari manages their relationship, the fact remains that the Italian team has by far the most evenly matched driver pairing on the grid, giving it a major advantage in the fight for at least second place in the constructors’ championship.

The struggles of Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Isack Hadjar – who is doing much better than his predecessors, but still not well enough for Red Bull to reduce its deficit to Ferrari to even 100 points – underline this year’s trend: the new regulations have certainly not suited every driver at the top teams. That was evident again in Austin, where Antonelli was well ahead of Russell, Norris well ahead of Piastri and Verstappen well ahead of Hadjar, while Leclerc and Hamilton were separated by just 5.5 seconds at the finish.

Toto Wolff was also confronted with that fact after the race, when he was asked directly whether the 54-second gap between the Mercedes drivers in Austin was down to Antonelli’s brilliance or Russell’s struggles. “I think it was both,” the Mercedes boss replied.

“On Kimi’s side, the main headline is that, for me, [it’s] the best race that he’s delivered so far, getting off the start with the inferior tyre and controlling it at all times. The race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet, but exceptional,” Wolff continued.

 “And so I think he’s outperformed the car. Maybe it’s a bit harsh to say, but I think his driving style just glues with the car. We saw that in qualifying yesterday, where on his last lap it could have been another tenth and a half or two up,” the Austrian added.

The mood and atmosphere on the other side of the garage, however, could hardly be more different. While Kimi Antonelli is producing the performances of his life and stands on the brink of his greatest achievement, George Russell is enduring one of the toughest spells of his career. “George just struggled so much, and I believe this is because the operational window of the car is so difficult. In Q2, he was there or thereabouts. Q3 didn’t work – he said that goes on me,” Wolff continued.

“And today in the race, I don’t know. We got stuck behind Piastri, which looks a bit unfair, why he didn’t get past, it’s the same engine, it’s the same electric charging and deployment,” the Mercedes boss added.

Toto has no doubt, however, that there is an explanation for all this and that Russell can return to winning form, although at the moment nobody seems to know how to make that happen. “I mean, on the other side with George, we have a champion. We have someone that has it all, but he’s not clicking with the car,” Wolff said.

“We need to find out why that is, because it’s not for us satisfying to see someone that walks on water on the other side of the garage, and a guy who, with all his ability, not being able to extract the performance out of the car,” the Mercedes boss added.