Wolff admits Mercedes risked looking ‘like idiots’ in Antonelli-Russell battle
08:00, 08 Sep
1 Comments
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Toto Wolff has revealed that Mercedes came close to intervening in the battle between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell during the Italian Grand Prix. The team principal admitted their late clash could have ended in “disaster” and made Mercedes look “like idiots”.
Antonelli produced a remarkable recovery from 19th on the grid to fight Russell for victory at Monza. The Mercedes teammates raced closely on several occasions, with Max Verstappen also in the mix earlier in the race.
Mercedes split its strategies when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed during the second half of the race. Antonelli stopped for fresh medium tyres while Russell remained on track, giving the Italian a significant tyre advantage for the closing stages.
Antonelli quickly closed the gap but ran through the gravel while attempting to pass Russell at the Rettifilo chicane. He recovered without losing significant time and completed a cleaner move shortly afterwards to take the lead and secure his home victory.
Wolff was ready to intervene in Mercedes battle
ADVERTISEMENT
Wolff revealed that he had been prepared to speak to both drivers and their race engineers as the battle intensified.
“At times, you know, we were thinking it’s clean, but it’s a bit close,” Wolff explained. “I had my finger on the button to Marcus (Dudley), to Bono (Pete Bonnington), to Kimi, to George, but I didn’t push it.”
The team principal was particularly concerned by Antonelli's trip through the gravel, which came after Russell himself had to fight to stay on track after making a mistake into Turn 1. Antonelli's trip through the gravel or a potential collision between the pair could have dramatically changed the outcome of the race.
“The last incident was unfortunate,” Wolff added. “George tried not to cut the corner and Kimi, obviously on the marbles, went straight.
“That could have ended up in a little disaster when it comes to the race result, and we would have looked like idiots.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Antonelli’s victory extended his championship advantage over Russell to 66 points, taking a huge step towards his first championship. Wolff confirmed that Mercedes will speak to their drivers about the Monza scare and outline how they want to race in the future.
“We will be talking about that situation as another building block of how we want to race in the future,” he said. “But I think it was worth it to show the racing spirit in the team.”
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.
Add as a preferred / source on GoogleRead more about:
latest news
Spanish Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 11.09.26
Practice 1
11:30 AM
Practice 2
03:00 PM
Saturday 12.09.26
Practice 3
10:30 AM
Qualification
02:00 PM
Sunday 13.09.26
Race
01:00 PM
Friday 11.09.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 03:00 PM
Saturday 12.09.26
Practice 3
Sat 10:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 02:00 PM
Sunday 13.09.26
Race
Sun 01:00 PM
Times are in your local timezone
Rumors
Popular on GPBlog
1
Nico Rosberg and Martin Brundle clash over Hamilton-Leclerc incident
10595 times read
2
Verstappen reveals he has 'deliberately held back' this season: 'I'm not going to drive like that for seventh'
2564 times read
3
Lewis Hamilton denies blame for Charles Leclerc clash
1907 times read
4
Major update on Leclerc's availability ahead of the Spanish GP
1800 times read
F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 267 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 201 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 191 | |
4 | McLarenMCL | 171 | |
5 | FerrariFER | 155 | |
6 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 127 | |
7 | McLarenMCL | 116 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 71 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 51 | |
10 | AlpineALP | 41 |
Loading
