Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said George Russell’s crash out of the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix “100% goes on us.”
Russell’s title hopes were dealt another major blow on Sunday when a collision with former teammate Lewis Hamilton knocked him out of the race.
He finished the day 50 points adrift of teammate Kimi Antonelli, who claimed his sixth win of the season.
A dejected Russell later said the crash came because he lost all battery power coming through Eau Rouge and down the Kemmel Straight, which saw him fall into a gaggle of cars, including Hamilton.
Wolff said Mercedes had to take responsibility for what happened.
“It’s two situations here,” Wolff told Sky Sports. “First is the racing, the accident that happened. It was unfortunate for us, we lost a lot of constructors’ points and George [lost] drivers’ points. And then we had an issue with all Mercedes engines, where we lacked power on the straight. And that bit him badly. It 100% goes on us.”
Russell had looked emotional in his post-race interviews. On that, Wolff told Sky Sports: “It’s completely understandable that the moment you’re out of this race, it’s so frustrating and the emotions boil. That’s why I completely understand. But he has our 100% support.
“We are trying to solve all the issues. He’s doing everything he can to get on top of his driving. So, yeah, I haven’t spoken to him, but I’m going to try to put my arm around him.”
The retirement continued a growing theme of Russell’s season.
The Englishman had said his disappointing qualifying performance on Saturday had confirmed driving style was not to blame for the lack of power deployment he’s been complaining about from his Mercedes engine in recent times.
Russell had tweaked with different styles this weekend to try and understand why his car appears to be deploying power differently to Antonelli’s.
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F1’s new cars harvest energy through corners, giving drivers a power boost to use around the lap.
Wolff suggested Antonelli’s limited experience in Formula 1 compared to Russell might have helped him adapt to the challenge of the new engine formula.
“I think, first of all, it’s very different [to previous years],” Wolff said. “And I think this is probably an advantage that Kimi has because it started, it reset for everyone. Then the component of energy harvesting and energy deployment plays a role.
“Even the way you go on the throttle, whether you give it a full throttle or half, and when you lift off, can have a consequence in terms of the energy delivery. And that’s another dimension that has been added to the driving. Now, some drivers may not like it. Others may say, okay, we just need to get used to it. But it’s another component that makes it more complex.”
