‘Lunatics’ – Toto Wolff hits out at ‘brainless’ George Russell conspiracy theory

SINGAPORE – Toto Wolff has blasted “brainless” conspiracy theorists who claim Mercedes is deliberately sabotaging George Russell’s championship in favour of Kimi Antonelli.

Russell’s retirement at the Bahrain Grand Prix saw him punished not once but twice as not only did he drop 84 points behind Antonelli, but he’ll have a grid penalty for this weekend’s race at the Marina Bay circuit.

Toto Wolff rejects Mercedes sabotage claims

With Russell suffering a second mechanical failure of the season, following his DNF in Canada in May, some social media users claimed that Mercedes is deliberately favouring Antonelli.

Appearing in Friday’s FIA press conference in Singapore, Wolff hit back strongly at what he described as “nonsensical” claims.

“They’re brainless, whoever thinks that,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets.

“It’s completely nonsensical. We’ve had it in the past with Lewis [Hamilton] fans. I don’t know what’s going on.

“Do they think I have a button that says ‘George engine failure now’? Or disadvantaging one driver against the other when we’re fighting for a constructors’ championship, when we’ve always had the mindset of providing everybody equal material?

“But I guess this is maybe where social media goes today. People hide behind their screens and then they lash out. There’s a lot of polarisation going on.

“Sometimes I read what people write, I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they’re abusing the team or myself. I’m Satan. I’ve heard.

“So overall, funny.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who dealt with a similar situation last season as conspiracies suggested McLaren was favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri, chipped in: “Silver Arrow rules will fix it… I’ve got a book I can share with you.”

Wolff quipped: “You have the exclusive rights on fruits, papaya rules. So we need to come up with something better.

“But really, zero understanding and respect for people who come up with these things.

“They should, rather than watching Formula 1, they should do Teletubbies or, I don’t know, Mickey Mouse.”

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F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

Wolff insisted that he is close to Russell, with the pair spending a lot of time together away from the track.

“George, who’s been with us since he was 17, someone that I feel a lot of how can I say emotions for and compassion,” he said. “We are very close.

“We’re spending time with Carmen [Russell’s partner] and Susie [Wolff] off the track with each other. If people would see that we’re travelling together, we’re having coffee in the same coffee shop, we’re going in a gym.

“That’s why it’s pretty annoying to have some lunatics that have no understanding really about how relationships are coming up with these kind of accusations.

“So I don’t pay any attention to this. Most important is that George knows how the team is, and Kimi knows, and we will always try to give them equal opportunity.’

Equal opportunity has long been Wolff’s mantra, not only when he joined the Formula 1 paddock with Williams but as he managed Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as they race wheel-to-wheel for the world titles.

“I’ve always tried since I came into Formula 1, even in my Williams days, to be the most balanced and the most transparent with the drivers.” he insisted.

“I have told this story before. I remember being a complete rookie and running into Alain Prost on the grid of a race, and I said, ‘Just out of interest, why did it go so wrong between you and Senna?’

“And he said, ‘Because we never knew what the team was about. You felt that you’re the flavour of the month at one time, and then two months later, you thought the politics were going against you. There were different situations where you had the feeling that you’re really not wanted.’

“So I took it as my challenge to keep it always balanced. And it was not easy with Lewis and Nico [Rosberg] back in the day.

“That’s why people can think what they want, but that the integrity in that respect is something that’s important for me. And the drivers know it.”

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