Speaking following a sensational F1 Singapore GP victory, team principal Toto Wolff reflects on Russell’s development, citing errors from earlier in his career are no longer a worry.
Mercedes enjoyed a stellar weekend for the F1 Singapore GP. After snatching pole on Saturday, the German marque scored a second Grand Prix victory of the year thanks to Russell. A dominant performance from George Russell had him near untouchable on Sunday as he cruised to victory ahead of Verstappen.
With Mercedes struggling around the difficult streets of Singapore in recent years, team principal Wolff was pleasantly surprised. Speaking after the Grand Prix, he admitted he could not have foreseen their success.
“You tell me.” He replied in jest when asked by the media what allowed the team to win in such dominant fashion. “That was never a nice place for us in terms of car performance. It was a great place, other than, you know, driving.
“If you would have told me that we were dominating in the way we did today, I would have not believed it. But from the get-go, on both tyres, the drivers’ and the car, we were just in sync and not to be beaten.”
Moving on to discuss his drivers’ Wolff discussed George Russell’s impressive performance throughout the Singapore GP weekend. Harking back to a heartbreaking end to the 2023 Grand Prix, Wolff said Russell errors reminiscent of that no longer happen.
When quizzed on the matter, referencing an episode of driver to survive, Wolff backed his driver. The Mercedes man claimed there was no concern within the team throughout the Grand Prix, even when under pressure from Verstappen.
“I think we’ve seen George, in the past,” Wolff explained. “These moments [similar to 2023], but not recently. That step-up that he’s made also this year, that, you know, these things don’t happen again.
“He was in control of the race today, eking out an advantage, managing it when Max was a bit closer. And there was not at any moment a doubt that, you know, there was any risk in his driving.”
Continuing on, the media naturally questioned Wolff about the progress with Russell’s contract with the team. With his contract due to end at the end of this season, reports suggest that Mercedes is in ongoing negotiations with Russell. While news regarding a renewal has yet to surface, it is understood both parties intend to continue together.
As ever, Wolff kept tight lips on the matter. While he did not share any great detail, he continued to praise Russell’s performances. While he did not discuss the ins and outs of the negotiations, he claimed fine details are all that is holding it up.
“[Russell has] been formidable this year. I haven’t seen mistakes.” He replied. “There were weekends that he himself said, I could have done more and I wasn’t in a good race. But this happens with any driver.
“You can see when it just merges, the car being in a perfect space and the driver being on top of things. That becomes the dominant formula and that is what we’ve seen.
“Contract-wise, good things take a while. It’s about the details, not about the big topics.”
On the other side of the Mercedes garage, rookie Kimi Antonelli also enjoyed a strong performance on Sunday. Despite losing positions early in the Grand Prix, Antonelli secured a second consecutive top 5 finish.
Reflecting on Antonelli’s performance, Wolff praised the young Italian for his pace on Sunday. While he noted that Antonelli may see missed opportunity, Wolff shared an alternative view of his Singapore GP weekend.
“Kimi is also one that always sees the grass half-empty.” He admitted. “What he will see is a Q3 that didn’t go to plan, that couldn’t put him in the first row, and a start in Turn 1 that wasn’t so good. That’s at least his feedback, obviously his honest feedback after the race.
“For him it’s more like, you know, maybe a front position that was lost rather than a P5 that was won. But solid delivery. The manoeuvre on Leclerc was strong. It wasn’t caught by the cameras, but we could see on the telemetry a huge braking event that there was so much pressure in the system that it started to oscillate. So yeah, that was good. Maybe that’s a bit comforting after the other parts of the race.”
