Toto Wolff has explained why he made a rare appearance on Mercedes' team radio during the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix to speak to George Russell. Wolff is not frequently heard on the radio whilst a race is ongoing, but the Team Principal opted to talk to Russell when the rain started to fall during the event in Monte Carlo. The Briton had looked on course for a potential podium finish before making an error at the Mirabeau corner soon after pitting for Intermediate tyres in the wet conditions. As he rejoined the track, Russell collided with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, an incident that he received a five-second penalty for along with two penalty points. With Russell feeling frustrated over his mistake, Wolff took to the team radio to talk to the driver.
Wolff: I'm trying to support from an emotional side
When asked about why he felt the need to speak on the team radio when the rain fell in Monaco, Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.com : "I've done that before. "It's just encouraging or calming a bit sometimes. Drivers don't see whether they're quick or not. "I think when you're sliding all over the place and you have no grip, and you have somebody telling you that you're actually pretty fast... "I'm doing this because the race engineers are flat-out, looking at tyres and strategy and, in that respect, I'm just trying to support from an emotional side."
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