Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has sharply criticized Red Bull’s protest against George Russell’s victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, labeling the move as “petty and embarrassing.”
Russell took his first win of the season in Montreal, edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a closely fought race. However, the victory was briefly clouded by an appeal lodged by Red Bull, accusing Russell of erratic driving and unsportsmanlike conduct behind the safety car.
The stewards rejected the claims, marking the second time this season Red Bull had unsuccessfully challenged Russell's on-track conduct – following a failed protest in Miami.
Wolff, speaking in New York on Monday evening during the launch of the new Formula 1 movie, did not hold back in his criticism of Red Bull's actions.
“First of all, it took team Red Bull Racing two hours before they launched the protest, so that was in their doing. You know, honestly, it's so petty and so small,” he said.
“They've done it in Miami. Now they launched two protests. They took one back because it was ridiculous.
“They come up with some weird clauses, what they call clauses. I guess the FIA needs to look at that because it's so farfetched it was rejected.
“You know, you race, you win and you lose on track. That was a fair victory for us, like so many they had in the past. And it's just embarrassing.”
When asked if the protests should have been resolved more quickly, Wolff was equally scathing.
“One of them they actually pulled as a protest, they didn’t even follow it through because it was nonsense,” he said.
“The second one took us five hours because I don’t even know what you refer to as ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’ or something. What is it all about? Who decides it? Because I’m 100 per cent sure it’s not Max, he’s a racer.
“He would never go for a protest on such a trivial thing.”
Despite the backlash, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stood firm on the team's right to raise concerns, defending their decision without hesitation.
“No, absolutely not [no regrets],” Horner told Sky Sports. “I mean, it's a team's right to do so. You know, we saw something we didn't think was quite right.
“You have the ability to put it in front of the stewards and so that's what we chose to do. Absolutely no regrets in that.”
Looking ahead, Horner emphasized Red Bull's focus remains on the championship fight, with Verstappen currently sitting third in the standings behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“We're not even halfway. We had a good weekend in Barcelona. We won obviously in Imola a few races ago, and as Sunday proved, anything can happen,” Horner said.
“You have just got to hang in there. It's a long championship. We don't give up on anything, keep fighting till the very end. If one person's going to do that, it's definitely going to be Max.”
As the title race intensifies, so too does the off-track drama, with Sunday’s events adding another chapter to the fierce rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull.
Read also: Canadian GP stewards dismiss Red Bull protest against Russell
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