F1 News: Toto Wolff asks Mercedes star to 'take responsibility' for MAJOR accident

Toto Wolff during press conference — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Wolff asks Mercedes star to 'take responsibility' for MAJOR accident

Toto Wolff shares his verdict on Australian GP crash

By Shay Rogers.

Sunday 7 April 2024 16:30

Toto Wolff has shared a different view on Fernando Alonso and George Russell's last lap crash at the Australian Grand Prix.

Russell was left stranded in the middle of the circuit after losing control and spearing into the barriers while following Fernando Alonso.

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But the stewards deemed that Alonso was at fault for ‘potentially dangerous’ driving, after data revealed that he broke 100 metres earlier into the corner – in a bid to stall Russell’s momentum.

Despite a 20-second penalty which carried a demotion to eighth place, the Spaniard disagreed with the verdict and most of the drivers’ views have been very split since the decision to hold the two-time champion accountable was made.

Fernando Alonso was handed a 20-second time penalty

The remains of George Russell's car after the crash

What was Toto Wolff verdict on the crash?

"You can hear the drivers, they obviously understand much more on a track that I've never raced on, and they're split," Wolff told the media.

"I think Fernando was aggressively defending by trying to take out the momentum before the corner, and maybe he's overdone it.

"George was just trying to [set up] an overtake there, but [he] also takes a certain part of responsibility for having lost the car there,” he continued.

"So what I make of this accident, I think in these high-speed corners, maybe you need to take a little bit of the karting philosophy of killing speed before the corner to have a better exit. But who am I to say?

"I'm not sitting in that car, I've never been on that level, so I'm just an observer and I look at the data and throttle and brake input, and that was very different on that lap to all the others."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes George Russell Toto Wolff Fernando Alonso Australian Grand Prix