George Russell was fined €5,000 by Formula One stewards after he failed to complete his post-race media duties following the Mexico City Grand Prix. The fine will be paid by Mercedes.
Race Troubles for Russell
Russell qualified second, just 0.009 seconds shy of pole position, but dropped down the order on the first lap due to an engine battery deployment issue that left him down on power. He then spun Isack Hadjar, earning a 10-second time penalty, and ultimately finished sixth.
Onboard footage showed Russell being overtaken by car after car on the run down to turn one as his engine lacked power. Over the radio, he complained, saying: "How is this even possible?" He then added: "I'm going to shut the f*** up."
Wolff's Apology and Antonelli's Celebration
Team principal Toto Wolff apologised to Russell, saying: "We completely let him down today again. We don't know what happened. I believe he was racing for the victory here and then came this lack of energy and ruined his race."
Wolff added: "We have two drivers, we don't have one. The car just didn't work for him this year. And then misfortune like today, we just have to sort it out for him. This is a very difficult moment for him, a very, very, very difficult moment. My aim is to provide him with the equipment and the support he needs to fight for a championship."
Meanwhile, teammate Kimi Antonelli celebrated winning the title on the podium. Russell hugged Antonelli and congratulated him in parc ferme but did not join Mercedes staff in the pit lane for the post-race celebrations, which included photos and champagne. The scenes were broadcast live on Sky Sports, with former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg asking: "Where's poor George? He's gone home?"
Stewards' Decision and Russell's Statement
Russell left the circuit without attending the media pen or the stewards' hearing, with a team representative speaking via telephone. The stewards noted: "The stewards heard from the team representative that the driver had left the circuit without attending the post race media commitments. Noting that the stewards can proceed to make a determination in the case of a non attendance at a hearing, a penalty of €5,000 is imposed on the competitor."
In a team press release, Russell was quoted as saying: "Firstly, congratulations to Kimi on a thoroughly deserved championship. He has done a fantastic job this season and can be incredibly proud of what he has achieved. Unfortunately, it was a very disappointing race on my side. I made a good start and was in a strong position, but then we suffered an issue which caused me to not have full deployment down the straight. That cost us a lot of positions and ultimately took us out of contention for a strong result. It's frustrating to have the race compromised by something outside of my control but that is racing. We will reset after this weekend and look to come back stronger in Brazil. We still have a constructors' championship to win and my full focus is on helping the team achieve that."
