Wolff admits to ‘bias’ in FIA verdict on Russell v Leclerc incident

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has weighed in on the FIA stewards’ decision against handing Charles Leclerc a penalty for his gravel-strewn overtake attempt on George Russell.

Wolff believes that it was “pretty clear” the move warranted a penalty, though he was also quick to preface his statement by acknowledging that he has a “biased” perspective.

Toto Wolff weighs in on Dutch GP incident between Russell and Leclerc

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Formula 1 returned from its mandatory summer shutdown period with a cracker of a race at Zandvoort for what will be the penultimate Dutch Grand Prix, and it was a chaotic race through and through.

In an event that saw Lewis Hamilton retire after crashing his SF-25 and Lando Norris’ shot for victory going up in smoke, the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli provided plenty of drama on their own.

Russell managed to overtake Charles Leclerc for fourth thanks to a well-timed safety car, but the frustrated Ferrari driver made a bold maneuver nine laps later. After racing side-by-side through Turns 10 and 11, Leclerc made a bold dive-bomb to the apex of Turn 12.

In the process, the Ferrari and Mercedes machines made contact, and Leclerc seemingly made the overtake entirely in the gravel.

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The stewards noted the incident but elected to dig into it after the race, ultimately determining that no further action was needed.

Many onlookers felt that Leclerc’s move warranted an immediate, in-race penalty, with Toto Wolff largely taking the side of his driver in a post-race round-table for media, including PlanetF1.com.

Asked to comment first on the stewards’ decision to wait to investigate until after the race, Wolff replied, “I think the FIA wanted to have more angles of the accident.”

However, it was clear that he was on his driver’s side, though he did admit to bias in that determination.

“From, let’s say, my biased perception, I thought it was pretty clear as a penalty,” Wolff said.

Russell himself was quite miffed at the move, telling media after the race, “I just wasn’t expecting it because the natural racing line of this corner is you go up to the gravel, you often see on a qualifying lap, drivers are putting a wheel in the gravel.

“So, I didn’t push him off; he just obviously overtook me through the gravel.”

Russell clarified that he sustained damage to the effect of losing one second per lap for the remainder of the race.

But over in Mercedes hospitality, Toto Wolff had to take a broader view.

“Now, looking at it from a global perspective after the race, considering that one of our cars took Charles out completely of the race, you know, whatever the stewards decide, we’ll find a way,” he said.

Wolff is referring, of course, to Leclerc’s collision with Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc had just exited the pits and was racing alongside the rookie driver coming into the banked Hugenholtz turn when Antonelli washed up and made terminal contact with the SF-25.

All in all, the Dutch Grand Prix proved to be an extremely challenging one for Ferrari and Mercedes, both of whom will be looking to reestablish their footing at next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix as they battle for second in the World Constructors’ Championship.

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