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🚨| Mercedes, Wolff admits: “With the same car, Russell would have been ahead of Kimi” — Toto Wolff acknowledged that George Russell's performance at the Japanese Grand Prix was hindered by a series of unfortunate events, including a malfunction in the W17's electrical system. Speaking to media, Wolff explained: “There was a bug in the electrical system, in the software. We thought we were giving him an advantage by distributing energy, but instead it caused him a super clipping, which means slowing down the machine. And that's where he unexpectedly lost his position over Leclerc.” “About George, therefore, we certainly cannot say that we are covered in glory.” — Reflecting on the race's challenges, Wolff noted the impact of setup decisions made during qualifying: “The race went all against him. Starting with the set-up decisions in qualifying, which put the car in a much worse window than in FP3.” “We still don't give the two drivers the best tools to start, but today there were also driver mistakes.” “We had to make the pit decision to cover ourselves from Leclerc and there the luck went to Kimi's side, who was very fast at that stage. It was bad luck for George, who lost positions at that time.” “Even with an important pace advantage, when you're in traffic, everything becomes very difficult. That was George's problem today.” — Addressing the perceived performance gap between Russell and Antonelli, Wolff clarified: “With the same number of cars it would have been a much closer story, but when we had to go fast, we had to choose whether to protect the position from Leclerc, while Kimi was shooting with perfect times. That was the difference. George didn't have a perfect car.” — Despite Antonelli's lead in the Drivers' World Championship, Wolff maintained that both drivers remain free to compete: “We are three races into the season and the car is good. We must continue to give drivers a tool to win or fight in front. Then, later on, we'll see how the points will be scored and if we need to do anything. But at this stage they are both totally free.” #kimiantonelli 🇮🇹 #georgerussell 🇬🇧 #mercedesamgf1 🇩🇪 #f12026 VIA: [AutoRacer IT]