While Antonelli celebrated, overlooked Russell slipped away without a word. Wolff apologises

Mercedes were still celebrating long after the race on Sunday evening, but one member of the team was missing. George Russell had disappeared from the circuit without saying a word to the media. The British driver was clearly devastated after the race. Wolff’s apology did little to change that.

Russell started second after an excellent qualifying session in which he missed out on pole position by just 0.009 seconds, but lost ground on the opening lap and even dropped behind Kimi Antonelli, who benefited from his team-mate’s problems to secure a podium finish.

The Briton got away well, but halfway down the straight, cars began streaming past him. His power unit had simply decided enough was enough. He emerged from Turn 3 in sixth place. Contact with Isack Hadjar gained him a position, but at the cost of a 10-second penalty.

“Mate what the… What was that about?!” asked an incredulous Russell over the radio, having already experienced the same thing at Spa-Francorchamps. “Mate, how is this possible? No ahh, I’m just gonna shut the f*ck up!”

Russell was in no mood to talk after the race. Every driver is required to attend the media pen and give interviews, but Russell congratulated Antonelli before simply packing up and leaving the circuit. As he had not been granted an exemption by the FIA, which could have been given on medical grounds, for example, the stewards fined Mercedes €5,000.

“We completely let him down today again,” said Toto Wolff in an interview with Sky Sports F1. “At that stage, we don’t know what happened. I believe he was racing for the victory here and then came this lack of energy and ruined his race.”

The Mexican Grand Prix will provide plenty of fuel for conspiracy theories about Mercedes favouring Kimi Antonelli and sidelining Russell. “We have two drivers, we don’t have one,” Wolff continued, seemingly anticipating what was to come.

He had anticipated a similar reaction in Malaysia, where Russell suffered a power unit failure. He pre-emptively banged his fist on the table in front of the cameras, but the theories Wolff had hoped to avoid appeared on social media nonetheless. He subsequently declared that, in his view, all the conspiracy theorists had been lobotomised.

“The car just didn’t work for him this year. And then misfortune like today, we just have to sort it out for him. This is a very difficult moment for him; very, very, very difficult moment. My aim is to provide him with the equipment and the support he needs to fight for a championship,” the Mercedes boss insisted.