Toto Wolff "massively annoyed" as he reveals cause of George Russell DNF
A "massively annoyed" Toto Wolff described the Bahrain GP as "one of my worst experiences" after a late technical issue robbed George Russell of a certain podium.
On Saturday, Toto Wolff was bitterly disappointed with Mercedes’ performance in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
However, Mercedes’ Team Principal was left ‘massively annoyed’ after the race on Sunday, as his team ran into issues in the final stages of the race whilst under safety car conditions.
On lap 50 of 55, Mercedes were in second and third with Kimi Antonelli leading George Russell. However, at the end of the start/finish straight, Russell pulled over to the side of the track with a technical issue.
The British driver had to retire from the race and dropped points in the Drivers' and Constructors' standings. Which will massively impact Russell’s championship challenge, and Mercedes’ hopes of a Constructors' championship.
“It's a PU failure. It wasn't caused by the safety car, so we haven't assessed it yet. I'm still massively annoyed and not in a happy place,” Wolff told Sky Sports after the Grand Prix.
“First of all, you know, we didn't have the speed that we were hoping to have before the weekend, so there's a lot of homework to be done in order to recover, which I'm sure we will.
“Then the race literally went — if you consider the fight with Lewis behind — against us, you know? We had such an advantage — one VSC, two safety cars—I mean, you couldn't be more unlucky.
“And to make things worse, a PU failure with a few laps to go to the end with George, which is terrible for his championship and not good at all for our constructor points.
“So, as much as I love to be here, when I look at the pure race, it's one of my worst experiences, to be honest."
On the other side of the garage, Antonelli was able to hold on to second place, but Wolff could not get over the loss of points from the other side of the garage.
Wolff said, “He scored a few more points than Lewis behind him, and I'm happy because he did the job.
“But it's just, you know, this overarching topic, the DNFs, that could cost us dearly, also for the remaining seven races.
“A championship is quickly turned around against you, or for you, if you have a DNF, and that's why that can't continue."
