Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has strongly criticised Red Bull Racing’s protest over George Russell’s victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, calling the move petty and embarrassing after stewards swiftly dismissed the claim.
The complaint, filed more than two hours after Sunday’s race in Montreal, alleged that Russell had engaged in unsportsmanlike behaviour by trying to compromise Max Verstappen during a safety car period. Red Bull argued the Mercedes driver deliberately put Verstappen, who was running second, at risk of breaching race protocol and facing a potential penalty.
Stewards rejected the protest five and a half hours after the chequered flag, citing insufficient grounds. Speaking on Monday night at the New York premiere of the upcoming Brad Pitt Formula One film, Wolff said Red Bull’s actions reflected desperation.
“It took them two hours to put that protest together. Honestly, it is so petty and so small,” Wolff told Sky Sports. “They have done it before, in Miami, they tried something similar. Now two protests in one race weekend, one of which they withdrew because it was simply ridiculous.”
Wolff accused Red Bull of distorting the rules in search of technicalities. “They come up with what they call clauses that are so far-fetched the FIA rightly threw them out. You win and lose on the track, and that was a fair victory for us, just like so many they have had in the past. This is just embarrassing.”
The Canadian Grand Prix marked Mercedes’ first victory of the 2025 season, breaking a run of ten races without a win. Russell held off Verstappen to claim the win, adding another chapter to their ongoing rivalry. Red Bull’s protest was their second involving Russell in five races. In Miami, they contested his third-place finish, citing an alleged failure to slow under virtual safety car yellow flags. That protest was also rejected.
Wolff made it clear he did not believe Verstappen was responsible for initiating the protest. “Max is a racer. I am one hundred per cent sure it was not him pushing for something so trivial,” Wolff added. “What does unsportsmanlike behaviour even mean in this context? Who decides that?”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner defended the protest, insisting the team had every right to raise the issue. “We saw something we believed was not correct and acted on it,” Horner said. “No regrets.”
The controversy builds further tension ahead of the next race as Formula One heads to Austria for the Grand Prix at Red Bull’s home circuit in Spielberg on 29 June.
