Toto Wolff dismissed the criticisms of Mercedes’ strategy at the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1, and denied that George Russell was harmed by the team. The Mercedes boss called the questioning of the decision made during the virtual safety car period ‘absurd’.
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Kimi Antonelli won in Monza ahead of Russell, with only 3.8 seconds between the two Mercedes cars. The result extended Antonelli’s lead over his teammate to 66 points in the drivers’ championship, while Mercedes increased its lead over Ferrari to 122 points in the constructors’ championship.
The main discussion took place during the virtual safety car, when Mercedes called Antonelli to the pits. The Italian had started on hard tires and switched to medium tires during this stop, while Russell, who was also on hards, stayed out in the lead.
Asked by Sky F1 if Russell should have been given priority in the decision, Wolff rejected the possibility: “No, it was absolutely the right thing we did,” he said. According to him, the plan was for a one-stop strategy, and the medium tires represented a compromise for Antonelli, who needed to change the hard tires used at the start.
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Wolff also reacted strongly to the criticisms made after the race: “There is no way, and obviously there are some ‘sofa warriors’ who will leave their comments after watching some other online material, saying that George was harmed. It is complete nonsense. Sorry, I should say it is complete rubbish,” he added.
The statements came after TL3 in Madrid this Saturday, in which Antonelli again finished ahead. The driver clocked 1:32.797, beating Charles Leclerc by 0.166 seconds, while Russell was sixth, 0.702 seconds behind. For Wolff, the fight for pole could be decided by minimal margins: “There may be a bit of a ‘yo-yo effect’. It could all be within a tenth. So you can be on the good side or the wrong side,” concluded the Mercedes boss.
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