Russell's radio plea gets immediate response from Wolff: 'Straight-line speed was okay in the race'
A brief exchange between George Russell and Toto Wolff after the British Grand Prix caught the attention of fans on social media, with the former urging the team to address its straight-line speed deficit in the near future before the Austrian was quick to respond.
The British driver made the most of his home weekend by capitalising on another setback for teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who went from a potential British Grand Prix winner to finishing outside the points. That allowed Charles Leclerc to return to winning ways, while Ferrari significantly reduced the gap to Mercedes in the constructors’ standings.
Wolff responds to Russell’s post-race radio frustration
Speaking over the team radio after the race, the Briton urged Mercedes to focus on improving its straight-line speed, describing the weekend as an extremely frustrating one despite acknowledging that a series of fortunate circumstances had helped him secure second place.
Responding over the team radio, Wolff immediately pushed back on Russell’s assessment, telling the Briton that Mercedes’ straight-line speed had been good during the race: “George, I think straight-line speed was okay in the race.”
Photo: Race Pictures
Russell concedes Antonelli deserves championship lead despite British GP P2 relief
Speaking after the race, Russell acknowledged that Antonelli has been the stronger of the two drivers across the opening nine races of the season, saying the Italian deserves to be ahead in the championship. While he felt the exact gap could be debated, he believed a deficit in the region of 10 to 30 points accurately reflects the difference in their performances so far, with the current 25-point margin falling within that range.
The Briton also noted that his own points tally has been affected by circumstances, pointing to the drive-through penalty he received in Monaco, which cost him 15 points. Even taking that into account, however, Russell maintained that Antonelli has done the better job over the course of the season to date and fully deserves to hold the advantage in the standings.
“Based on my performances and based on his performances, over the course of these 9 races, I think probably a 25 point gap in his favour is probably correct. He has done a better job than me this year, to this point.
“So, he deserves to be ahead of me, whether it should be 25 points, whether it should be 10 points, whether it should be 35 points is a debate, but in that ballpark. I obviously lost 15 points as well in Monaco with the drive-through penalty. I think anywhere from 10 to 30 points behind is probably about fair.”
