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The FIA have fined Mercedes £4,100 (€5,000) following Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix, after the constructor allowed George Russell to skip his post-race media duties. The Englishman was left feeling ‘distraught’ after Kimi Antonelli secured the World Championship title at the weekend. Antonelli had been champion-elect for some time after Russell blew his chance to mount a serious title bid earlier in the season.
But that didn’t stop the confirmation of Antonelli's triumph from being any less devastating, not least because Russell had started the season as the title favourite.
Instead, it was a different Mercedes driver who was the best in class this year, with Antonelli deservedly winning his first-ever championship. Things were made worse for Russell in Mexico City, where he endured a terrible day on track.
Russell started in second, but was hampered by a technical issue beyond his control in the early stages of the race. He was also given a 10-second penalty after he was adjudged to have caused a collision with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar.
In the end, Russell finished sixth, and because of his double disappointment, Mercedes allowed him to skip his mandatory media duties. As a result, Mercedes have been fined £4,100 by the FIA.
Toto Wolff was quizzed on Russell after the race and revealed how devastated his driver is: "I saw George after the race on the FIA scales, and obviously he's distraught about the situation.
"I have known George for such a long time. So, I saw him and thought, for a racing driver, this is a catastrophic moment.
"And maybe today the race was a little bit a picture of his season. This was a race for him to win. We had the pace in the car. And we let him down on the first straight. The energy delivery is not what we thought it should be.”
Wolff added: "And so I'm very much with him at the moment. I've been in situations where it's very, very difficult to cope. So, him not doing the media work, or leaving the track, is absolutely understandable. Him staying would have actually surprised me."
The media will next get a chance to speak to Russell in Sao Paulo ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend. It’s one of four races left this season, with Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi also still to come.
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