Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolf blasts 'bulls*** couch warriors' on Kimi Antonelli conspiracy

Toto Wolff, Belgian GP, 2025, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolf blasts 'bulls*** couch warriors' on Kimi Antonelli conspiracy

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Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 13 September 2026 21:57

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Toto Wolff has hit out at 'couch warriors' who have claimed that Mercedes favoured Kimi Antonelli at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend.

The Italian started on a different strategy to team-mate George Russell as he looked to race up from 19th on the grid, starting on hard tyres before switching to mediums after two laps when the race was red flagged for Charles Leclerc's crash at the Parabolica.

Russell, meanwhile, went from mediums to hards in the same stoppage, with Wolff confirming that the team's data suggested that the Brit going to the end of the race on those hard tyres was the optimal strategy.

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Antonelli, now on medium tyres, raced all the way up to the back of Russell but still had to pit one more time, with his softer tyres unable to last the race distance like his team-mate's.

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Wolff: Strategy decision 'absolutely' correct

The Italian got a massive stroke of good fortune right in his pit window though, with a virtual safety car caused by Lance Stroll's Aston Martin giving up providing him the chance to take a cheaper stop and save nearly ten seconds over a green flag stop.

Some Russell fans have complained that he should also have been pitted, with Antonelli double-stacking behind him, but Wolff was insistent when speaking on Sky Sports on Saturday that his team made the correct decisions.

“No, it's absolutely the right thing we did," he said. "He was on the hard. It was predicted to be a one-stop as the better strategy. The medium was a compromise. We had to put the medium on on Kimi because he started on the hard.

“There is just no way, and obviously there's some couch warriors that will drop their comments after having watched some other material online that are easy saying that he was penalised. It's complete bulls***t. Sorry, I shouldn't say that – it's complete crap.”

Russell himself pinned his defeat on a combination of the VSC and Antonelli's masterful drive, saying after the race: “It would have been very interesting to see how the race would have panned out if there was no VSC. It takes nothing away from Kimi’s drive altogether.”