Wolff rejects Marko's claim that Russell has lost number-one status at Mercedes
Helmut Marko said George Russell is no longer Mercedes' number one and may never get another title chance. Toto Wolff called him "my Austrian not so buddy" and insisted Russell has the talent to win a championship.
Marko's verdict
With Kimi Antonelli closing in on the 2026 title, Helmut Marko has weighed in on his Mercedes team-mate. According to PlanetF1, the former Red Bull adviser said earlier in the United States Grand Prix weekend that Russell "is no longer the number one driver" and that Antonelli had clearly taken that status from him. Marko also doubted that Russell "will ever have another chance at the world title" or be handed number-one status anywhere.
Wolff's answer
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff replied by calling Marko "my Austrian not so buddy", while saying he respects the opinion and believes it is wrong. PlanetF1 reports that Wolff pointed to Russell's record in the junior ranks: success in F2 and F3, a title in his rookie F3 year and back-to-back European karting titles.
Wolff also suggested the car does not suit Russell as well as it suits Antonelli. In his reading, Russell is strong when the car sits within its operating window and struggles more than his team-mate when it falls outside it. "That is on us," Wolff said, adding that the team must work out what Russell needs from the setup. He rejected the idea that Russell is far off Antonelli's pace.
The state of the title fight
Russell finished eighth in Austin, which PlanetF1 says leaves his title hopes all but gone. Antonelli won in Texas by 13.078 seconds according to our race data, and needs only two points from the remaining five races to clinch the championship, as PlanetF1 reports. The report puts Antonelli on nine wins this season against Russell's three.
PlanetF1 adds that Norris, Hamilton and Verstappen have all closed in on Russell in the standings, and that reliability problems cost Antonelli likely wins in Barcelona and Silverstone.
What comes next
The next race is the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November, with the start at 21:00 Vienna time. Antonelli could be crowned there, which would put Mercedes' internal balance of power under even more scrutiny.
