Toto Wolff launches strong George Russell defence after 'wonderkid' realisation

Toto Wolff has issued a strong defence of George Russell's capabilities after criticism from Helmut Marko about his performances.

Although Russell dominated the season-opener in Australia, the Mercedes driver has endured a torrid year and has been unable to consistently access performance from the W17, with three grand prix wins to team-mate Kimi Antonelli on nine.

Antonelli is now almost certain to win the world championship in just his second season of F1, and holds a 123-point advantage over Russell with just 125 remaining heading to Mexico City - where if Russell fails to win, Antonelli will be champion by default.

If he does win, Antonelli just requires a ninth-place finish or better to be crowned F1's youngest champion. 

As Russell has struggled to consistently find performance and constantly had to tweak his driving style, former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claimed he doubts "whether Russell will ever have another chance at the world title or be given number one status anywhere."

When these comments were put to Wolff, he staunchly defended his driver - and pointed out the other factor of the mental challenge Russell faced at dealing with the unstoppable momentum of Antonelli earlier in the season.

Russell entered the campaign as the bookies' favourite for the title, a position only strengthened by his commanding performance in Melbourne to kick off the year, before "wonderkid" Antonelli then rattled off five straight wins between China and Monaco to open up a 68-point lead after the Principality that Russell has never recovered from. 

"I respect Helmut's opinion, but he is wrong about George," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.

"George has all the ability, but the car doesn't suit him.

"I think at the beginning of the season, it is maybe difficult to cope with a situation when you're feeling like 'this is my year' and then we have this wonderkid on the other side that really starts to chip away [at you].

"I believe that in a new season, George, if we provide him with a quick car, he absolutely has what it takes to win an F1 championship.

"I think it is a bit too easy to forget about all the years he won in F2, F3 and his rookie years and the back-to-back titles in the European karting championships. 

"That is all still there."

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Mercedes pledge fix

Wolff is also keen on Mercedes "working" with Russell to diagnose exactly what it is he is struggling with in the W17.

The Austrian was firm that it is "absolutely not the case" that Russell should be half-a-second slower than Antonelli - as he pledged to work with the Briton.