Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, has defended George Russell after the British driver made several mistakes during the Canadian Grand Prix. Despite starting the race from pole position, Russell finished in third place. Wolff praised Russell’s performance as brilliant, but admitted that his driver had made avoidable errors.
Russell lost a second-place finish in the final stages when he drove too aggressively over the wet kerbs while chasing Max Verstappen, consequently losing his position to Lando Norris. At another point, he went off the track in a duel with Norris and nearly collided with Verstappen upon rejoining the race. He also made a mistake during a battle with Oscar Piastri.
These actions drew criticism from Ralf Schumacher, now an analyst for Sky Deutschland. According to him, Russell was pushing too hard. “George always has speed. But when it comes down to it, he wants to force his way through the wall,” said the former F1 driver.
‘Focus, George, focus!’
During the race, Toto Wolff also came on the radio to address his driver: “Focus George, focus!”
However, in the aftermath, Wolff defended his driver. According to him, Russell was ‘brilliant’ at times, but ‘too ambitious’ at others. “On one hand, George brought shine to the race, on the other hand, he could have perhaps avoided the mistakes. George took risks and it cost him a position, but he managed to regain it later.”
