Toto Wolff Reprimands George Russell’s Entitled Behaviour as Lewis Hamilton Regains Control Over Mercedes After Last Year’s Hiccup

George Russell has had an explosive start to his Mercedes career. Even though the Silver Arrows aren’t exactly championship contenders since 2022, Russell has his hands full when it comes to battling his teammate, 7x champion, Lewis Hamilton. And in the one-and-a-half-year stint he’s had with the team, he’s had the measure of the 38-year-old. This year, however, Hamilton seems to have gotten back into the rhythm.

During the Monaco GP, we probably saw the first time Russell felt entitled owing to his performances when he got a bit pushy on the team radio. After earning himself a 5-second time penalty for an unsafe rejoining to the track, Russell came onto the radio to ask Hamilton to swap positions with him. His logic; he’d have Hamilton cover him from 6th placed Charles Leclerc in light of the penalty. The team refused him, and the fans gave him a piece of their minds. Now, his boss, Toto Wolff, has weighed in on the matter.

Toto Wolff draws the line with George Russell

Given the dynamic within the team, Russell’s demands did not sit well with the Austrian boss. Wolff is like a mentor to Russell and a friend to Hamilton. Irrespective, as things stand, Hamilton is the team leader, and Russell’s demands seemed to be out of line, circumstantially and otherwise.

After the race, Toto Wolff told ServusTV, “He generally puts a lot of pressure on himself. That’s his way. We might have to consult and coordinate. I don’t think he also really thought we would swap positions. I said we are not even discussing that. Staying calm is important.”

Wolff then went on to rue the team’s missed opportunity. “Without his exit, it would have been a podium finish. We were ahead of Ocon.”

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Wolff will surely hold the Brit accountable, however, Russell still feels he was hard done by the team.

Russell shifts the blame on Lewis Hamilton

Putting things into perspective, Russell was definitely on for a podium finish. However, he made one costly mistake when the changeable conditions kicked in. He went on to the escape road and his unsafe rejoin made the difference. This he admits to. However, he does also feel Hamilton has a part to play in his missed podium opportunity.

He told the media after the race, “I was being held up by [Esteban] Ocon and Lewis, and Charles [Leclerc] was closing me down. I was definitely not going to risk anything on Lewis in conditions like this. It’s bitterly disappointing when you do everything right for 98 percent of it, but that one tiny mistake costs everything.”

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Do you think Mercedes should have folded and allowed the two drivers to invert their positions?