George Russell: Toto Wolff says radio message to Austrian GP winning driver was 'dumbest' moment of his F1 career

The head of Mercedes, Toto Wolff, confessed that sending a poorly timed radio message to George Russell towards the end of his Austrian Grand Prix win was the silliest mistake he has made in Formula 1.

Russell was in the third position when the race leader Max Verstappen crashed into Lando Norris who was in second place. This caused Verstappen to have to make a pit stop due to a puncture, and Norris was unable to continue in the race because of the damage to his car.

When Wolff saw the crash between Verstappen and Norris, he got so excited that he forgot to follow the usual process of making sure Russell was in the right spot on the track before speaking to him on the Mercedes team radio.

Russell replied sharply to Wolff, telling his boss to "allow him to drive" in a message that contained a swear word.

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Wolff stated that he has a deep understanding of the drivers and their needs because he spends a lot of time with them, allowing him to know their psychology well and know how to motivate or refocus them when necessary.

However, this is the most foolish mistake I have made in my 12 years working at Mercedes. I will always feel embarrassed about this. Messaging the driver should be done at a safer time, not during braking or in high-speed corners.

"I didn't check the GPS to see his location. I only witnessed the two of them challenging each other, and we knew we had a chance to win. So we took a leap of faith and pushed the button, determined to come out on top."

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"And I had the opportunity to confront him with that message. Just think about the impact it could have had."

I am very passionate and I love when we succeed. I love watching Lewis Hamilton and George succeed as well, and I got really caught up in the moment. I think that's what he meant when he said that afterwards, but honestly, it was quite embarrassing.

Following his second grand prix win in F1, Russell mentioned that he was initially taken aback by Wolff's message, but recognized that his boss had good intentions.

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"I could hardly control the car because of how loud he was yelling," Russell shared with Sky Sports F1. "It was so intense that I almost lost control and crashed."

This just proves how dedicated we all are. Our team has been working tirelessly lately. Every single person in the factory has been putting in extra hours to get the car upgrades done sooner. It can be disheartening when you feel like your hard work goes unnoticed, but today we were finally rewarded for our efforts.

Russell Feared Piastri Would Overtake Him

Even though he inherited the lead with only eight laps remaining, Russell didn't seem confident about winning, as Piastri from the McLaren team was right on his tail, displaying impressive speed.

In the end, a virtual safety car was deployed by the race director to help clean up the debris from the Verstappen-Norris crash, which gave Russell much-needed relief.

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"I believed Piastri was going to close in on me, to be honest, but I think closing in is one thing, passing is another," Russell explained.

Yesterday, I was followed by Carlos for 10 laps while my Drag Reduction System (DRS) was active. Then, I spent about eight laps following behind Carlos while he had his DRS active. It was not easy to pass him. I told myself to stay calm and focused, reminding myself to stick to my strengths and avoid taking unnecessary risks. This mindset helped me secure the victory in the race.

The VSC was somewhat helpful as my tires were getting too hot. This gave me the opportunity to lower their temperature.

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Russell arrived back home with a lead of almost two seconds ahead of Piastri, who is still aiming to win his first grand prix.

Russell scored 25 points, but he remained in seventh place in the drivers' standings. However, his performance allowed him to narrow the gap to just one point behind Piastri in sixth place.

The final race of F1's summer triple-header is the highly anticipated British Grand Prix at Silverstone. You can catch all the action live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, including Sunday's race at 3pm. Don't miss out on any F1 race and other content with a NOW Sports Month Membership - There's no contract, so you can cancel at any time.