Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has accepted responsibility for the technical problem that compromised George Russell’s race at the Mexico Grand Prix, saying the team “let him down” when energy was not delivered as expected on the opening straight.
Russell started on the front row alongside Lewis Hamilton and initially held position, but the issue left him down to sixth by Turn 1. A few corners later, he made contact with Isack Hadjar while attacking the Red Bull at Turn 6. Russell was given a 10-second penalty, which dropped him behind Lando Norris after a red flag for Valtteri Bottas’s crash. He made no further gains in the second part of the race.
Wolff said Russell was distraught after the finish and described the result as a race the Briton had the pace to win. Mercedes excused Russell from his media duties; the FIA fined the team €5,000.
The energy deployment problem was not the first technical setback of its kind for Russell this season. A similar issue on the Kemmel Straight at Spa-Francorchamps preceded a collision with Hamilton. Russell has also retired with power unit failures while running in the lead in Canada and in third place in Malaysia.
Kimi Antonelli acknowledged that Russell had suffered more than his share of bad luck, but said he expected his team-mate to return strongly, noting his speed. Russell later posted a message saying the season had brought more difficult days than good ones and that he would keep working to recover his form.
Russell remains fourth in the drivers’ standings with 250 points, and is still in contention for his best championship finish. He previously finished fourth in 2022 and 2025.
Sources: Autosport.