Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he understood why George Russell missed his mandatory media duties in Mexico, saying he was “distraught” after Kimi Antonelli secured the world championship.

Wolff confirmed that Mercedes had excused Russell from this process, too, with all drivers usually required to take part in post-race media rounds before they leave the circuit at any given race.

George Russell ‘distraught’ in ‘catastrophic situation’ for a driver – Wolff

Russell had been his teammate’s main challenger all season, having headed into the year as heavy pre-season favourite – with Antonelli upsetting the form book within the team to win the title with several races to spare.

After the race, Russell went and congratulated Antonelli, the Italian’s family and the Mercedes crew before exiting the circuit, missing his mandatory duties to be interviewed by the media in the process.

Without the approval of the FIA, this meant Mercedes received a €5000 fine as a result.

More analysis from the Mexico City Grand Prix

Wolff has claimed he would have been “surprised” if Russell had remained in the paddock after the race.

The team boss also acknowledged Mercedes’ own issues which saw Russell plummet several places at the start in Mexico, empathising with his driver as the team “let him down” after starting on the front row.

“I saw George after the race on the FIA scales, and obviously he’s distraught about the situation,” Wolff explained after the race.

“It was a great show of sportsmanship to go and see Kimi. I have known George for such a long time, and I know for a sportsperson, he’s going through a hard time, but he was also responsible in getting the young man into this team.

“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 have thought it should be, 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.”