Toto Wolff (Mercedes) after victory and fifth place: between consolation and pressure

In the first free practice session in Madrid, George Russell was still the fastest, but Kimi Antonelli then took the lead at Mercedes. The Italian secured second place on the grid in qualifying, whilst Russell had to settle for sixth – in a race where overtaking was virtually impossible. Russell finished fifth in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring, moving up a place following Lewis Hamilton’s (Ferrari) retirement. Antonelli took first place.

Why did Russell struggle so much? On Saturday, his team principal Toto Wolff had said that Russell hadn’t been able to gain enough confidence on the high-risk circuit. He also struggled at times during the race itself.

Wolff ponders: What is Russell struggling with?

During his post-race press conference, when asked what Russell was currently struggling with most – Kimi Antonelli, his car, himself or something else – Toto Wolff replied, looking noticeably pensive: “I’m not sure exactly…. Because you could see that towards the end, when he was catching up with Leclerc, he had a pace that made it look as though he was the fastest on the track. But after the tyre changes, that pace wasn’t there anymore. We need to analyse this, because clearly it’s there in him, it’s there in the car, and we just need to unlock it.”

The gap between his two drivers is widening; there are now 81 points separating championship leader Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. It’s been a familiar sight this season: joy in Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes garage, frustration on the other side.

Toto Wolff commented: “I’ve been seeing this for about 15 years now: one part of the pit is happy, the other isn’t. It’s simply part of the job. The only thing I can try to do is be transparent and honest. We discuss it in every single situation. We give both drivers the greatest possible support, no matter what happens. And that’s why sometimes it’s about comforting the driver, sometimes about applying a bit more pressure. So that’s what I try to do. I feel a bit bad about it, to be honest.”

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Russell has already written off the Drivers’ Championship

George Russell himself had caused a stir with his clear words after the Spanish Grand Prix. Given his 81-point deficit to Antonelli, the Briton said that, realistically speaking, he was no longer in the running for the Drivers’ Championship. With nine – or, more realistically, eight – races remaining before the end of the season (depending on the situation in the Middle East), this is perhaps a realistic but nonetheless surprisingly candid statement.