Toto Wolff accuses US GP stewards of ‘biased decision making’ after George Russell penalty

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Toto Wolff has accused the United States Grand Prix stewards of being ‘biased’ after a penalty for George Russell.

The Mercedes driver was handed a five-second time penalty for forcing Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas off track at Turn 12, where there was a massive run-off to the right of the apex.

Yuki Tsunoda was also handed the same penalty for pushing Alex Albon off, but Max Verstappen twice escaped a penalty for similar incidents.

Verstappen was battling with Lando Norris for the final podium place when the pair ran side-by-side at the apex of Turn 12, causing the Red Bull driver to run the McLaren wide to defend the position.

Norris accelerated while off-track and kept the position, which earned him a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

This left Wolff furious, who branded the penalty a “total joke” over team radio and went on to accuse the stewards of bias on the cool-down lap over team radio.

Toto Wolff suggests US GP stewards bias after George Russell penalty

During the cool-down lap, Russell questioned: “Did Verstappen get a penalty for Turn 1?”

This prompted the response from Wolff: “No, he didn’t get a penalty and at the end, Lando got a penalty for being forced off and overtaking on the outside. I guess it’s a bit biased decision making but, you know, not surprised.”

Wolff later made comments about the overall stewarding of the race weekend and drew comparisons to other incidents on track when speaking to Sky Sports.

“It’s inconsistent, with Valtteri it wasn’t even a race. We saw a few incidents during the Sprint that were exactly the same and weren’t penalised racing for positions,” said Wolff.

When asked to clarify his remarks about the decision-making process, he said: “Sometimes there are correlations in the decision-making [between individuals and the decisions].”

“At the end of the day, it’s a difficult job and some are very good, some are trying their best, and we need to salute these guys.”

Martin Brundle gives verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s US GP retirement

It was a fairly challenging weekend for Mercedes with Russell having to start from the pit lane due to changing parts under Parc Ferme.

Lewis Hamilton was also forced to start from the back after making a bad set-up change, which impacted his car balance and made it a nightmare to drive.

Hamilton initially made a good start by passing a lot of drivers and getting up to 12th, but just a few laps into the race he speared off the track at Turn 18.

Discussing the incident during commentary, Martin Brundle said there was ‘nothing he could do’ about the slide as Hamilton lost the rear of W15.