Almost two years without a win is a long time, a very long time, especially on the scale of Mercedes and its track record in Formula 1. So inevitably, when one of your drivers is on the verge of bringing home a first victory at Brackley since the end of 2022, emotions take over reason. That’s exactly what happened to Toto Wolff on Sunday, in the final laps of the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Austrian leader could not hide his excitement as George Russell was propelled into first place with seven laps to go following a collision between leaders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. As they approached the braking zone for Turn 3, the Mercedes boss shouted into his British driver’s radio: ” George, you can win!” A radio message so strong and in such a crucial area that the winner of the day, surprised, almost got away!
“I knew that Oscar [Piastri] was fast, and he came out of nowhere towards the end of the race with his hard tires. For me, it was quite difficult. Then, suddenly, Toto shouted in my ear: ‘You can win!’. And I almost went out when he shouted in my ear. It was so loud!”explained George Russell, who, after Toto Wolff’s radio message, immediately replied: “Let me drive, damn it!”
Wolff : “The stupidest thing I’ve done in 12 years at Mercedes”
Relieved by his victory at the finish, the Briton did not fail to hug his Team Principal, as if to excuse him for this error which could have been fatal. “I think it shows the passion that we all share,” he said afterwards. “Obviously we’ve had a tough couple of years. It feels good to be back on the top step.”
Toto Wolff, for his part, apologized profusely to his driver and said after the race that the radio message was “the stupidest thing I’ve done in 12 years at Mercedes.”
“I will forever be ashamed because usually you look where you are sending messages to the driver and you don’t do it under braking or in high-speed corners. I didn’t look at the GPS… I just pressed the button with emotion and I thought we could win, recognizes the Austrian. I could have taken it out with that message. Imagine how we would have felt… I love that we’re doing well and I love seeing Lewis (Hamilton) and George do well. I got carried away with it, but seriously, it’s embarrassing.”
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