Mercedes boss Wolff hints at Bottas regret after Russell’s first win

George Russell joins Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

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Toto Wolff has suggested that he may have held off on replacing Valtteri Bottas with George Russell for one year too long after the Brit secured his first Grand Prix victory at Interlagos on Sunday. The Mercedes team principal also discussed Russell’s rise through the ranks, before impressing in his debut year for the Silver Arrows. 

Russell took the step up to Mercedes at the start of this season, having served a three-year apprenticeship at struggling Williams. How he would fare in a title-chasing car, and alongside serial world champion Lewis Hamilton, were largely unknown quantities. 

That didn’t remain the case for long, however, as Russell put together a string of top-five finishes to build a gap between himself and Hamilton in the Championship. The 24-year-old finally notched an elusive Grand Prix victory in Brazil on Sunday – Mercedes’ first of the season, while Hamilton has just one more race to maintain the streak of winning in every year of his F1 career. 

With only the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remaining, Russell’s 25-point buffer is almost certain to see him finish ahead of his more experienced team-mate in the final standings. Wolff was reflective after his Interlagos triumph, admitting that calling him up to represent the Silver Arrows may have been a decision taken one year too late. 

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“I thought about it at the end of the race, when he walked in as a 16-year-old with his suit and his tie and his PowerPoint presentation,” he said. “He’s the first of our new junior programme that has won a race.

“Obviously Lewis [Hamilton has been there forever], and is the most successful of the ones that have graduated from our junior academy. But six years later, [Russell is] a Grand Prix race winner. We’ve always set hard targets. You’ve got to win GP3, you’ve got to win F2, and he did that in his rookie seasons.

“I guess at Williams, it was the best schooling he could have had, maybe a year too long. But in any case, today the most relevant [thing] is that he’s a Grand Prix winner and a deserving Grand Prix winner.”

Given that Hamilton is virtually untouchable at Mercedes, Wolff’s comments suggest that, in retrospect, he feels that Bottas’ race had been run with the team by the end of 2020. The Finn notched 10 race wins during his five-year stint alongside Hamilton, but never managed to win the world championship before being replaced by Russell and joining Alfa Romeo. 

Bottas’ reputation has only been enhanced by his tumble down the grid, having carried Alfa Romeo for much of this season. In fact, his 49-point haul is more than eight times that managed by his rookie team-mate, Guanyu Zhou. 

The 33-year-old picked up yet more points at the Brazilian Grand Prix, finishing in P9 behind Esteban Ocon. Alfa therefore have prime position to clinch sixth spot in the Constructors’ Championship, providing the likes of Aston Martin and Haas are unable to make up significant ground in Abu Dhabi. 

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