Toto Wolff responds to ‘killer’ George Russell’s tough Miami weekend

Toto Wolff has dubbed George Russell “a killer” behind the wheel, and has backed him to recover from a difficult weekend in Miami.

Russell crossed the line fourth after a late pass on the damaged Charles Leclerc in Miami, while teammate Kimi Antonelli won his third race in a row.

Toto Wolff backs George Russell recovery after Miami

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Russell came into the season as favourite for the title, being the more experienced driver at a Mercedes team which had been expected to produce the best overall package in the 2026 rule changes.

After winning the Australian Grand Prix and taking sprint honours in China, Russell has not beaten teenager Antonelli since through a variety of factors, but admitted over the weekend that the Miami International Autodrome has been something of a bogey circuit for him in time.

Russell has six wins to date in his Formula 1 career, and while the odds have turned in Antonelli’s favour at this stage, Mercedes team principal Wolff has backed the Briton to bounce back at the next round in Canada.

“I’ve always said George wouldn’t be a Grand Prix winner if he wasn’t a killer,” Wolff told PlanetF1.com and others.

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“These things, he analyses them, looks at the data, comes to his conclusions, and the conclusion is that he’s never been quite that easy with the track.

“He never liked the smooth surface, and that’s it. Tick the box tomorrow. He’s looking forward to Montréal, and it’s 18 races to go, many points to score.

“I don’t think there’s any relevance from his side to think about what could be at the end of the year.”

Russell is taking lessons from the weekend too, admitting he trialled setup tweaks in something of an in-race testing session when it became apparent a podium finish would not be on the cards.

Adding that he is taking early talk of a world championship out of the equation, Russell said: “The pace was really poor my side.

“I’ve got some ideas, to be honest, so I used the last sort of 20 laps to kind of test for myself, try out some quite drastic changes with my driving style and some of the differential and brake settings on my car, and it improved things – but I just can’t wait for the next race where it’ll be slightly more normal conditions. Yeah, no major cause for concern.”

Antonelli holds a 20-point lead at the top of the standings heading into the next round at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Mercedes already holding a commanding lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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