By Leticia Fucuchima
NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff acknowledged George Russell’s struggles on Friday, saying the season had gone against the Briton but urged him to maintain “the mentality of a fighter”.
The 28-year-old Mercedes driver, who began the season as the title favourite, said on Thursday he was exhausted from repeatedly having to pick himself back up after a string of setbacks, while watching teammate Kimi Antonelli become Formula One’s youngest world champion last weekend.
“Certainly very tough for him, I mean, he’s gone to see Kimi, which is great that he was capable of doing it. But when a season goes against you like that, it’s obviously very difficult to do,” Wolff told reporters at Interlagos on Friday.
“But I spoke to him the same evening, we spoke the next day, looking forward to this race and the next season, and that’s the mentality of the fighter: this one is lost, what can I do best to win the next one?”
Russell looks set for another difficult weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, having been handed a grid penalty for an engine change, his second such sanction in the last four rounds. The Mercedes driver was also hit with a major grid drop in Singapore after being forced to take multiple new power unit components.
Wolff also welcomed the prospect of Mercedes wrapping up the Constructors’ Championship this weekend, with the team needing to outscore Ferrari by at least three points to secure the title.
“The drivers’ (championship) was very special this year, but the constructor is obviously the one that paid the bonuses. So it’s something that is very, very important for all of the organisation.”
(Reporting by Letícia Fucuchima, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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