Toto Wolff has hit again at strategies that Mercedes is favouring Kimi Antonelli over George Russell on this yr’s title battle, branding these making the accusations “lunatics.”
The Mercedes workforce principal was requested straight whether or not there’s bias inside the Brackley-based squad in the direction of Antonelli, who holds a 102-point lead over Russell on this yr’s F1 drivers’ championship.
The hole has fuelled on-line debate over whether or not Mercedes is tilting its sources in the direction of the Italian, which angers Wolff, who has firmly rejected that narrative, insisting the workforce treats each drivers equally.
Talking on the topic, Wolff has defined his method to managing drivers dates again to the beginning of his time within the sport.
“Since I got here into Components 1, even in my Williams days, I’ve all the time tried to be balanced and clear with the drivers,” he stated, chatting with the media, together with RacingNews365.
“I’ve informed this story earlier than. I keep in mind being a whole rookie and working into Alain Prost on the grid of a race, and I stated, ‘Simply out of curiosity, why did it go so fallacious between you and [Ayrton] Senna?’
“And he stated, ‘As a result of we by no means knew what the workforce [McLaren] was about. You felt that you just had been the flavour of the month one time, after which two months later you thought the politics had been going in opposition to you. There have been totally different conditions the place you had the sensation that you just’re actually not wished’.”
Wolff particulars what’s vital
Referencing the inner feud between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg throughout their time collectively as Mercedes team-mates from 2013 to 2016, Wolff added: “So I took it as my problem to all the time hold it balanced, and it was not straightforward with Lewis and Nico again within the day.
“That is why folks can assume what they need, however the integrity in that respect is vital for me, and the drivers understand it.
“Now we have had Kimi since he was 11. He’s an integral a part of the workforce. It is rather good to see him develop, to be able now that he’s combating for a championship at such a younger age, the expertise he has.”
Wolff then turned to his relationship with Russell, who has been a part of the Mercedes set-up since he was 17.
“After which on the opposite aspect, George is somebody who I’ve a whole lot of feelings and compassion for,” he stated. “We’re very shut. We’re spending break day the observe with one another, with Carmen and Susie.
“If folks would see that we’re travelling collectively, we’re having espresso in the identical espresso store, we’ll the gymnasium, that is why it is fairly annoying to have some lunatics that haven’t any understanding actually about how relationships work developing with these sorts of accusations. So, I do not pay any consideration to this.”
