Red Bull’s Russell protest ‘petty’ and ’embarrassing’ – Wolff

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team’s principal, claims that George Russell’s protest at Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix was “petty” and “embarrassing” and that Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, was at fault for it.

With four laps left before Lando Norris struck McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri’s car on the pit straight, making it Mercedes’ first win of the season as the race ended under the safety car.

The stewards rejected the protest, which was brought by Red Bull, alleging that Russell drove “erratically” behind the safety car and displayed “unsportsmanlike behavior.”

At the New York premiere of F1, starring Brad Pitt, Wolff said, “First of all, it took team Red Bull Racing two hours before they started the protest,” Wolff said.

It is “so small and petty.” They develop some odd clauses, or “clauses,” that they call. Because it’s so unbelievable, it was rejected, I suppose the FIA needs to look at that.

On the track, you know, you win and you lose. Like so many others they had in the past, that was a fair victory for us. And it’s completely embarrassing.

Christian Horner, a Red Bull exec who was also present at the film’s launch, said he had no regrets filing a complaint.

No, absolutely not. It’s a team’s right, really, to do that. We observed something that we didn’t believe to be accurate.

You have the option to present it to the stewards, according to the organization. There are definite no regrets in that.