Wolff rejects claims Mercedes is favouring Antonelli over Russell

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has rejected speculation that Kimi Antonelli is being favoured over George Russell, calling those who believe it “brainless” and the claim “completely nonsensical” at a Friday press conference in Singapore.

The speculation followed Russell’s engine failure in Malaysia, which led to an early power-unit change and a grid penalty for Singapore. The teammates are also using different aerodynamic specifications this weekend: Russell has the older package, while Antonelli retains the new parts.

Russell said he had raised the idea of returning to the older specification before the Malaysia race and already favoured it. He said the team was roughly split at that point; the engine failure made the choice a no-brainer.

Wolff said Mercedes had always aimed to provide both drivers with equal material and would continue to offer them equal opportunities. He added that the team did not know which specification would be quicker and that the decision was not political.

Even if it was now more realistic in mathematical terms for Antonelli to win the title, Wolff said, Russell would still receive the same opportunities.