Toto Wolff dismisses Helmut Marko's Russell theory: "He still has what it takes"

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has dismissed suggestions from former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko that there's no coming back for George Russell from being beaten to the world title by Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli is set to be crowned in the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix barring exceptional circumstances delaying his coronation by one week.

As Mercedes hit the front with the all-new 2026 regulations, it provided long-time Mercedes driver Russell with a golden chance to fight for the world title, but the Briton has been largely overshadowed by his less experienced team-mate, who won five consecutive races at the start of the year to take charge of the standings.

Russell enjoyed a brief resurgence after the summer break, but through a combination of handling struggles with the new cars and bad luck with reliability the 27-year-old never looked likely to defeat Antonelli and he is now under threat of losing second to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

Sky Germany pundit and former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who left the outfit at the end of last year, believes there's no coming back for Russell from that defeat to his 20-year-old team-mate.

"Russell is no longer the number one driver." Marko said as Antonelli took his ninth win of the season in Austin's United States Grand Prix while Russell came home in eighth.

"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."

Following an opening weekend win in Melbourne, George Russell has been shaded by his younger team-mate throughout 2026.

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

After the race, Wolff dismissed Marko's comments, insisting that with a clean slate and a car more suited to his driving style, Russell can still contend for world championships.

"Helmut, he's my Austrian not-so-buddy, but I respect his opinion," Wolff said. "But I think he's wrong on George. George has all the ability. I think the car doesn't suit him.

"I think that 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 [wonderkid] on the other side that starts to really chip away.

"And I believe that in a new season, George, if we provide him a quick car, he has absolutely what it takes to win a championship.

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

Antonelli heads into this weekend's Mexico race with a 123-point lead on Russell and 125 points left to earn over the remaining five races. If Russell manages to win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, all Antonelli needs is ninth place to become the youngest world champion in F1 history. If Hamilton takes victory, a solitary point in 10th would be enough for the 20-year-old.

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