Toto Wolff confirms 'unlock' needed to baffling George Russell mystery

Toto Wolff has conceded Mercedes still does not fully understand why George Russell is adrift of Kimi Antonelli's pace this season, insisting the team must "analyse" the issue rather than accept it as a simple driving-style mismatch.

Following a strong start to the season with victory in the Australian Grand Prix, Russell has taken the chequered flag on only one other occasion. In contrast, Antonelli has scored eight wins, one more than the British driver has achieved in his F1 career.

It has allowed Antonelli to open up an 81-point cushion over Russell, with the likelihood there are only eight grands prix remaining. It is expected a race in Europe will replace the final two in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to conclude the campaign.

Speaking on the pace gap between his drivers, Wolff said he remains puzzled by Russell's inconsistency, as occurred in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring.

"You can see the pace he had towards the end when he was catching [Charles] Leclerc, when he was fastest out on track," said Wolff, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365.

"After the tyre change, the pace was there. I just don't know where it is. We have to analyse because clearly it's in him, it's in the car, and we have to unlock it."

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A car built for a different style

Russell himself has pointed to a fundamental clash between his driving technique and this year's cars following the regulations change, which reward high-rotation corner entry and active weight transfer over the smoother, geometric inputs he favours.

He has, however, already conceded the title fight is beyond his control this year, stating that, "right now, Kimi deserves to be leading; right now, he deserves to be the champion this season."

Wolff, for his part, insists the imbalance between his drivers is nothing new to his style of management.

"I've had it for 15 years or so, that one part of the garage is happy, the other one not," he said. "It's just part of the sport, part of the job.

"The only thing I can try is to be transparent and honest about things. We talk about each and every scenario, and give the biggest support we can to both drivers, no matter what.

"Sometimes it's about putting an arm around a driver, sometimes putting a little bit more pressure, so that's what I need to do, and then I feel a little bit better about it."