Mercedes takes blame for Russell's poor Mexico GP: "We let him down"

Yet another technical issue derailed Russell’s victory bid, and Toto Wolff has owned up to it

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted to ‘letting George Russell down’ at Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix, with the Briton’s bid for victory derailed within seconds by a technical issue.

Russell was starting from the front row alongside Lewis Hamilton at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and his initial getaway was good enough to retain that position and take the polesitter’s slipstream, but his Silver Arrow encountered an energy deployment issue.

By the time he got to Turn 1, Russell was down to sixth. A few corners later, he was attacking Isack Hadjar but failed to back out going into Turn 6 and tapped the Red Bull into a spin, landing a 10-second penalty.

As a consequence, Russell was sixth again by the time the red flag was waved for Valtteri Bottas’ hefty crash, as the penalty dropped him behind Lando Norris, and he failed to make any inroads during the second part of the race.

After the chequered flag, the 28-year-old congratulated team-mate Kimi Antonelli for his world title but did not stick around; Mercedes excused him from his media duties, landing a €5,000 fine from the FIA.

“I saw George after the race on the FIA scales, and obviously he's distraught about the situation,” Wolff said. “It was a great show of sportsmanship to go and see Kimi. I have known George for such a long time and I know for a racing driver this is a catastrophic moment.

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

“Maybe today the race was a little bit a picture of his season. This was a race for him to win. We had the pace in the car and we let him down on the first straight. The energy delivery is not what we have thought it should be.

“I'm very much with him, at the moment. I've been in situations where he's very difficult to cope. Him not doing the media work or leaving the track is absolutely understandable. Him staying would have actually surprised me. That's absolutely honoured.”

This wasn’t the first time a lack of energy deployment caused trouble for Russell; it also happened at Spa-Francorchamps down the Kemmel Straight, leading to a collision with Hamilton. The Briton retired on the post.

Russell was also struck by other mechanical problems, notably power unit failures that caused retirements from the lead in Canada and third in Malaysia.

“Definitely he has had bad luck at some point in the season,” Antonelli admitted when asked if Russell would ‘give him a big push’ in 2027. “He has had a little bit more than me, being honest. I've also had my moments in Silverstone and Barcelona. Also, after Silverstone, we had to trash our new PU because it had a problem in it, and we had to take an earlier penalty, which was in Monza.

“Definitely, we've had our bad moments, but still, he will definitely come back. You know, he's super quick. He has shown this season that when he's on it, it's very hard to beat.

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

“So it's just about, you know, on my side, keeping focused on myself, keep trying to raise the bar, keep improving, keep developing, because I think it's not going to be only a matter of George at the end of this season, but also for next season, Red Bull, especially with Max [Verstappen], Ferrari and McLaren, eventually, we're all going to be up there, and it's going to be a tight fight. So, it's going to be important to be on top of the game, not only against my team-mate but against all the others.”

Russell eventually posted a long message to Instagram on Monday evening, delving into his emotions following the weekend’s events.

“Now feels like a pretty suitable moment to speak from the heart. This season started off exactly how I had hoped but it very quickly unravelled with tough luck and poor performances,” wrote the Australian GP winner, who took only two more victories in the next 18 grands prix.

“It’s been the first proper season of my career where I’ve had more bad days than good. Has it been tough to deal with? Yes, very. Has it been tough to pick myself up week in, week out? Yes, very. Confusion at times? Often. All I know is that I’ve given it my all and 2026 was not meant to be my year.

“I want to sincerely congratulate Kimi on what has been an absolutely incredible season. You truly deserve the Championship.