Mercedes’ Wolff hits out at ‘brainless’ critics; Verstappen tops S’pore GP’s first sprint qualifying

SINGAPORE – The Singapore skies may be shrouded in unhealthy haze but ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made his feelings clear as he blasted “brainless” conspiracy theories.

In a press conference at the main pit building on Oct 9, he hit back at suggestions that Mercedes have been favouring championship leader Kimi Antonelli over teammate George Russell.

There have been plenty of allegations online following the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, where Russell suffered a power-unit failure while running third with five laps to go.

That unfortunate incident saw Russell not only drop 84 points behind Antonelli in the title chase, but the Briton will also start from the back of the grid on Oct 11 as he had no engines left in his season’s allocation of four.

It was Russell’s second mechanical failure of the season. In May, he suffered an engine problem at the Canadian GP and it also sparked claims from social media users that Antonelli was getting preferential treatment.

On Oct 9, Wolff vehemently dismissed those suggestions, calling the allegations “completely nonsensical” while defending his team – who lead the constructors' championship.

The Austrian said: “They’re brainless, whoever thinks that. I mean, it’s completely nonsensical. We’ve had it in the past with Lewis (Hamilton) fans. I mean, literally, I don’t know what’s going on.

“Do they think I have a button that says, “George engine failure now”, or disadvantaging one driver against the other when we are fighting for a constructors’ championship, when we have always had the mindset of providing everybody equal material?

“But I guess this is maybe where social media goes today. People hide behind their screens and then they lash out. There’s a lot of polarisation going on. Sometimes I read what people write, I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team or myself.”

He added: “But really zero understanding and respect for people who come up with these things. They should, rather than watching Formula 1, they should do Teletubbies or some Mickey Mouse.”

Wolff insisted that both his drivers will still be afforded the same racing opportunities even if it is more realistic for Antonelli to win the championship.

“That’s the ethos and the integrity on which the team has operated since 2013, since I came, and we are going to stick to that. And then people can think what they want.”

The Mercedes boss’ stance would have been vindicated by the results of sprint qualifying later when Russell outpaced Antonelli to grab second place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start the Oct 10 sprint race from pole with his 1min 31.156sec effort, with Russell 0.120sec behind.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third, ahead of McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton was sixth in the second Ferrari, ahead of Antonelli in seventh place.

But Verstappen’s result is in doubt pending an investigation by the stewards for overtaking Hamilton under yellow flags in the first round of sprint qualifying.

The Dutchman, who won his first race of the season at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, will fancy his chances of collecting the maximum eight points available to drivers and teams finishing in the top eight.

He has yet to win a race in Singapore and a sprint victory will be much welcomed by the four-time world champion.

Verstappen said after clinching his first sprint pole this season: “Once we bolted on the soft tyres, it felt like the car was coming alive a little bit more. But I did not expect this, so of course, very happy to be first.”

“In the last few races, we’ve been a lot stronger. But this track still highlights a few little weaknesses in the car. But we managed to drive with that as well as possible.”

Introduced in 2021 to increase the sport’s entertainment value, sprint races run for 100km, or about one-third the distance of a regular F1 race.

The sprint race (5pm), being staged in Singapore for the first time, is the season’s sixth and final sprint weekend.

The qualifying for the main race will be held at 9pm on Oct 10, after the sprint race.

Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.