He shouts out of time
“I could have sent him off the track with that message. This was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in 12 years at Mercedes.. I will be forever ashamed of it“. He doesn’t mince words. Toto Wolffto comment on one of the most curious and ‘hidden’ episodes of an incredible Austrian GP, which however could have had very serious consequences on the outcome of the race.
A few moments after theVerstappen-Norris accidentwhich effectively paved the way for George Russell’s possible victory – the first for Mercedes since 2022 – the team principal of the silver arrows was overcome by emotions, opening up to his driver via radio and shouting at him a now iconic “You can win this George“, which nearly took out the British #63. “I almost crashed when he screamed in my ears“, the Mercedes standard bearer commented amusedly, as he finally took home the second success of his career.
Fear and Victory
In fact, Wolff’s mistake was don’t think about where Russell was on the track at the timesending him a sudden message in an ‘uncomfortable’ place for the pilot to handle.You always have to see where the message is being sent to the pilot – Wolff added – you don’t do it when braking or when cornering at high speed. But I didn’t look on the GPS where it was. I just saw these two eliminating each other and emotionally I felt like pushing the button.”.
With the tranquility of the victory now acquired, Wolff also indulged in a joke about what could have happened if Mercedes had ultimately lost the victory due to the emotional ‘intemperance’ of its team principal: “Imagine what could have been – he commented again, speaking to journalists – I’m emotional, I like that we are doing well and that Lewis and George are doing well, but I got carried away by that situation“.
#Irrepressible #Wolff #shouts #Russell #apologies
