Motor racing-Wolff hits back at fellow Austrian Marko over Russell comments

Formula One F1 - United States Grand Prix - Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, U.S. - October 24, 2026 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is interviewed after Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishes in pole position IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Jerome Miron

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct ⁠26 (Reuters) - Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has backed George Russell for future ⁠successafter Red Bull's former motorsport adviser Helmut Marko dismissed the Briton's chances ‌of ever recovering from being eclipsed by teammate Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli is 123 points clear of Russell atop the Formula One standings, with 125 still to be won, and is set to become the ​sport's youngest-ever champion in Mexico City this weekend as ⁠well as the first Italian ⁠champion since 1953.

The 20-year-old has now won nine times in his second season to ⁠three ‌for the more experienced Russell, who started the year as the bookmakers' favourite.

"Russell is no longer the number one driver." Marko, who left Red Bull ⁠last year, told Sky Germany ahead of Sunday's US ​Grand Prix, which Antonelli ‌won from pole while Russell laboured home in eighth after collecting a ⁠five-second penalty.

"Antonelli has ​quite clearly taken that spot from him ... I doubt whether he'll ever have another chance at the world title or be given number one status anywhere," added the 83-year-old.

Wolff said ⁠while he respected the opinion of his fellow ​Austrian "not-so buddy", Marko was wrong.

"George has all the ability. I think the car doesn't suit him," he told reporters at the Circuit of the Americas.

"At the beginning of the ⁠season it's maybe difficult to cope with a situation where you're feeling like this is my year to come and then you have this wunderkind on the other side (of the garage) that starts to really chip away.

"I believe that in a new ​season, George -- if we provide him with a quick ⁠car -- has absolutely what he needs to win a championship.

"I think it's a bit ​too easy to say let's forget about all these ‌years where he won in F2 and ​in F3, in his rookie years in the European championships back-to-back in kart. That's all still there."

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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一级方程式赛车（F1）——美国大奖赛——美国德克萨斯州奥斯汀美洲赛道——2026年10月24日，梅赛德斯车队领队托托·沃尔夫在安德烈亚·基米·安东内利获得杆位后接受采访。（图片来源：路透社/杰罗姆·米隆）

德克萨斯州奥斯汀，10 月 26 日（路透社）——梅赛德斯 F1 车队老板托托·沃尔夫力挺乔治·拉塞尔未来取得成功。此前，红牛车队前赛车运动顾问赫尔穆特·马尔科曾表示，拉塞尔被队友基米·安东内利超越后，他再也没有机会恢复元气。

安东内利在F1积分榜上领先拉塞尔123分，还有125分尚未赢得，他有望在本周末的墨西哥城成为这项运动有史以来最年轻的冠军，同时也是自1953年以来第一位意大利冠军。

这位 20 岁的球员在他的第二个赛季中已经赢了 9 次，而经验更丰富的拉塞尔只赢了 3 次，拉塞尔在赛季初是博彩公司最看好的球员。

“拉塞尔不再是头号车手了。”去年离开红牛车队的马尔科在周日美国大奖赛前告诉德国天空体育。安东内利从杆位发车并最终夺冠，而拉塞尔在被罚时五秒后艰难地获得第八名。

“安东内利显然已经从他手中夺走了那个位置……我怀疑他是否还有机会再次获得世界冠军头衔，或者在任何地方获得世界第一的地位，”这位 83 岁的老人补充道。

沃尔夫表示，虽然他尊重这位奥地利同胞“不太熟的朋友”的意见，但马尔科错了。

“乔治完全有能力。但我认为这辆车不适合他，”他在美洲赛道告诉记者。

“赛季初，你可能会觉得今年是属于我的一年，但车库另一边却出现了一个天才车手，他开始蚕食你的优势，这种情况可能很难应对。”

“我相信，在新赛季中，如果我们能给乔治提供一辆速度快的赛车，他绝对具备赢得总冠军所需的一切条件。”

“我觉得如果说我们要忘记他过去在F2和F3赛事中取得的那些胜利，以及他卡丁车新秀赛季连续两年赢得欧洲锦标赛冠军的辉煌战绩，那就太简单了。这些成就依然存在。”

（艾伦·鲍德温报道；肯·费里斯编辑）

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