Toto Wolff accuses Sky F1 pundit of 'pointing fingers' over George Russell question

Toto Wolff in conversation with George Russell in the paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Toto Wolff accuses Sky F1 pundit of 'pointing fingers' over George Russell question

George Russell has been struggling with his Mercedes car in recent races

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 24 July 2026 08:27

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Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff was unimpressed by a line of questioning from Sky Sports F1's Simon Lazenby surrounding George Russell's struggles with the team.

Russell has been vastly outperformed by his team-mate Kimi Antonelli throughout the 2026 season so far, and sits 50 points behind the young Italian in the fight for the drivers' championship.

Up until the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, it was thought that this was a result of Antonelli simply getting used to the new regulations faster than Russell, but the Brit launched a scathing interview during the weekend where he revealed that his car seemed to be losing power on the straights faster than Antonelli's.

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This was then evident during the race, when Russell's car slowed towards the end of the Kemmel Straight on lap one, with a number of drivers storming past him and knocking him down into fifth position.

That led to Russell then having to scrap with Lewis Hamilton into turn five, and the pair collided, seeing Russell go spinning off into the gravel and out of the race.

Following his early DNF, Russell launched a very emotional assessment of his car's issues, claiming that it was the lack of power that had led to his retirement, rather than any wrongdoing from Hamilton.

Wolff unhappy with Simon Lazenby question

Following the race - which Antonelli won to rub more salt into Russell's wounds - Wolff spoke to Sky Sports F1 about the issues with Russell's car, but was caught off guard by the way Lazenby framed his question.

"It looks like when he was accelerating out of La Source, it was almost like he’d got a handbrake on," Lazenby said of Russell to Wolff live on TV. "But is it a combination of things? Is it due to George’s driving style as well as the fact that there is a fundamental deployment issue with his car at the moment? And why is it only his car?"

Wolff replied: "George has my and our 100 per cent support. Simon, you’re pointing your finger at stuff here. He’s running out of energy at that point. It’s already too late.

"Tried the outside here, late braking, and it should have been his corner, but that’s a racing incident. These things can happen whether you’re in the front, in the middle, or the back of the pack."