Toto Wolff calls out fans after bias stories linger on social media involving George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, as he refers to old rivalries.
Mercedes is not new to stories of bias. It was the same during the years of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and it has returned with Russell and Antonelli, especially with the Italian taking the limelight and heading the points battle in the F1 drivers’ championship.
The run for Antonelli has kick-started a storm on social media, with Mercedes being called out for favoring the young Italian – who is a prodigy that the German team found in his early years, to rival someone like Max Verstappen, as they say.
With Russell facing several reliability issues, fans have begun to concoct conspiracy theories, much like how Hamilton fans did – as Wolff recalls. The Austrian calls fans who make up stories about sabotage online brainless.
Wolff Calls Conspiracy Theorists as ‘Brainless’
“They’re brainless, whoever thinks that,” said Wolff in a press conference. “I mean, it’s completely nonsensical. We’ve had it in the past with Lewis fans. I mean, literally, 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 are fighting for a Constructors’ Championship, when we have 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 polarization going on, and sometimes I read what people write. I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team or myself. I’m Satan, I’ve heard. So, yeah, overall funny.
“(Zak Brown: Silver Arrows rules will fix it. I’ve got a book I can share with you.) Yeah. You obviously… 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 some Mickey Mouse,” summed up Wolff. When pressed on why such things happened to him and why they were repeating after the tense days involving Hamilton and Rosberg, the Austrian shared an anecdote to answer the query.
Wolff Retells Story of his Chat with Prost
He recalled his chat with Alain Prost, to discuss the Frenchman’s famous rivalry with Ayrton Senna. “I’ve always tried, since I came into Formula 1, even in my Williams days, to be the most balanced and the most structured, transparent, sorry, the most balanced and most transparent with the drivers,” started Wolff.
“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 were the flavor of the month one time, and then two months later you thought 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 back in the day. And that’s why people can think what they want, but the integrity in that respect is something that’s important for me, and the drivers know it,” summed up Wolff, who then went on to describe the importance of both Antonelli and Russell in the Mercedes F1 team.
Wolff Reckons the Lunatics Don’t Know How Close Russell, Antonelli are to Him
They are both products of the Mercedes F1 academy, with Russell joining before Antonelli. Given the amount of time Wolff has spent with the drivers and their families, the Austrian finds it annoying when accusations are thrown in his face.
“We have had Kimi since he was 11. He is an integral part of the team,” continued Wolff. “It is very nice to see him grow, be in a position now that he is fighting for a championship at such a young age, the talent he has. And then on the other side, George, who has been with us since he was 17, someone that I feel a lot of, how can I say, emotions for and compassion.
“We are very close. We are spending time with Carmen and Susie 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 to the gym, that’s why it’s pretty annoying to have some lunatics that have no understanding really about how relationships work coming up with these kinds of accusations. So, I don’t pay any attention to this.”
Russell, Antonelli Aware of Mercedes Ethos and Style
Wolff stressed that both Russell and Antonelli know how Mercedes operates from a very young age. The title scenario doesn’t change how they manage things, which both the F1 drivers are aware of. There is a set ethos, which is never taken for a ride.
“Most important is that George knows how the team is and Kimi knows, and we will always try to give them equal opportunity,” said Wolff. “And when it comes to the upgrade, it’s a good example. We don’t know which one is going to be quicker. And so you take a decision and say, “Let’s try to find out.” There is no great political thinking behind it.
“And when it comes to racing, like the Papaya Rules, we have always been very clear that we’re not standing in each other’s way. We don’t like the yo-yo racing that could cost a position if someone is close to us, and the quicker car, if it’s behind, is always going to have an advantage. And that could go either direction, doesn’t matter.
“Even if it is now that it’s more realistic for Kimi to win a championship in sheer mathematical probability, we would still give George the same opportunities. And that’s important. That’s the ethos and the integrity on which the team has operated since 2013, since I came, and we are going to stick to that. And then people can think what they want,” summed up Wolff.
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