Toto Wolff hopes to heal George Russell’s “numb” feeling after Spa F1 disappointment

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has explained how the team will attempt to help George Russell shake off his "numb" feeling, after his latest disappointment at the Belgian Grand Prix. 

Russell retired on lap one at Spa-Francorchamps, after a power unit quirk left him without battery deployment along the Kemmel Straight, which resulted in the Briton being swamped by the chasing pack, before contact with Lewis Hamilton pitched him into the gravel and out of the race.

Speaking after his exit, a visibly emotional Russell told media: “I'm numb to the disappointment now. When it happens so often, you just get used to it.”

Informed of these comments and asked how he can help recover motivation for his driver, Wolff said: “You have to understand that a driver is very emotional when these situations happen. But on the other side, as a Formula One driver, you're part of a very elite group.

“I think it's quite an honour to drive a Mercedes. Sometimes we let ourselves down, and it's not just the driver, but it's also us. It's valuable constructors' points that we lost in our fight against Ferrari. So, I hope the numb feeling goes away. We will try to help to recreate optimism and positivity.”

The retirement was the latest in a string of disappointments for Russell this term, with unfortunately timed safety cars costing him results at the start of the season, with reliability issues costing further points in the races since.

Although Kimi Antonelli's season has not been without its issues, Russell has unquestionably dropped more points through no fault of his own than the Italian. 

While the actual collision between Russell and former team-mate Hamilton may have been somewhat of a 50-50 incident - the Mercedes driver suggesting as much even after the seven-time champion had been penalised - he was only in position for the contact to take place due to a quirk of his power unit, which had hampered all Mercedes-powered cars across the weekend.

"I think all of the drivers, at least the ones that I have worked with, when they have difficult spells, and it happens to any sports person, you need to find a way of motivating or building them up, and George has his way," added Wolff. 

"I'm definitely trying to do that. I've known him for such a long time, I understand the frustrations, and the team is 100% behind him."