F1 Azerbaijan GP: “You’ll get pushed out,” Toto Wolff defends George Russell for aggressive fight against Max Verstappen in Baku

Toto Wolff believes that George Russell is not to blame for his tussle Max Verstappen during the sprint race.

F1 Azerbaijan GP: “You’ll get pushed out,” Toto Wolff defends George Russell for aggressive fight against Max Verstappen in Baku

George Russell, Toto Wolff, and, Max Verstappen

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes Team Principal, has given his verdict on George Russell‘s on-track tussle with Max Verstappen during the recently concluded Azerbaijan Sprint race. As per the Austrian, his driver did not do anything wrong, and it was totally Verstappen’s choice to be fighting Russell from the outside line

Toto Wolff feels that taking risks on the outside is totally up to a driver, and while shedding light on the two driver’s lap one tussle, he said, “He’s been on the outside, so, of course, you stay over, but he knows that well anyway. They’ve known each other for 15 years, they’ve driven karts together, they know each other very well. If you’re on the outside, there’s a chance you’ll get pushed out. That’s what happened then.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNIXbfQa9pg

The Mercedes team boss has made it clear who was to blame for the contact between George Russell and the reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen. Moreover, he has indicated that the duo has been racing each other for over 15 years and know how the rules go while racing during Grand Prix weekends.

FS Video

After their on-track tussle, Max Verstappen sustained damage to his car and could not put his RB19 through the wringer because of the loss in performance. As a result of that, the 25-year-old was only able to muster up a P3 finish for his team. He tried until the very last lap to secure P2, but it just wasn’t to be.

Discover: F1 Azerbaijan GP: Toto Wolff brands Max Verstappen’s George Russell is a ‘di**head’ comment as a ‘good entertainment factor’

How many points can Toto Wolff’s Mercedes team score during the Azerbaijan GP?

Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff

While the Sprint race has become a thing of the past, the focus for the Toto Wolff-led Mercedes F1 team will be on scoring as many points as possible during the upcoming main race. Lewis Hamilton is starting the Azerbaijan GP from P5 on the grid, whereas his teammate, George Russell, would be seen starting his exploits from P11.

The latter is starting outside the top 10 because he had a terrible qualifying session on Friday afternoon. He struggled for pace and just wasn’t able to match the time of his 7-time F1 World Champion teammate. However, with a new day comes new opportunities, and considering the chaos that has ensued in Baku so far, anything is possible.

Lewis and George have both looked solid in recent races, but it is not going to be an easy task for the Mercedes duo to keep up with everything that would be happening around them during the race. From what has transpired so far, the key for the Mercedes drivers is to get off to a clean start without getting into any unnecessary trouble; this will set them up well for the race.

In case you missed it: