Toto Wolff sends George Russell clear message after cruel F1 setback at Canadian GP
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists George Russell cannot be ruled out of the F1 title race.
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has advised George Russell to “move on” and “forget” his heartbreaking retirement at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Russell was leading Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli when his W17 suddenly broke down with a power unit failure on the 30th lap of Sunday’s race in Montreal.
The 28-year-old Briton’s DNF allowed Antonelli to take an unchallenged fourth consecutive victory which has stretched the Italian teenager’s championship advantage over Russell to 43 points after the first five rounds.
However, Wolff has insisted it is too early to write Russell out of the title race despite the massive setback as he branded the pre-season championship favourite F1’s most resilient driver.
"Things have been going against him in the last few races," Wolff told media including Crash.net on Sunday.
"Today certainly would have been big points to collect. He was in the lead, but, you know, if there's one guy that I would choose in this paddock in terms of resilience and determination, that would be George.
"He's had to overcome adversity previously, whether it's from karting or junior formulas, and he's not going to give up that fight. Honestly, there's 17 races to go.
“So many points to score. Wake up tomorrow and digest, forget, move on, move forward and drive the best you can. And that's exactly what he's going to do.”
Asked if he plans to speak with Russell ahead of the next race in Monaco, Wolff replied: "I speak to George every day, and we're travelling back together tonight. So lots of time to talk, as always.
“But, you know, the best ones, they don't end up in Formula 1 because they just happen to win a few races, they end up there because they have that resilience.
"You don't win championships in junior formulas or in karting if you haven't got the resilience. All of them will have had massive setbacks, so he. So I think this is about really digesting, sleeping over it.
"And there's nothing he could have done more than what he did today. And maybe that, at least, is a positive thought.”
A downbeat Russell painted a bleak picture of his title changes in the immediate aftermath of the race, insisting the championship is now Antonelli’s to lose.
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