Toto Wolff admitted not telling George Russell about a water leak on his car as he raced to victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Brit took the chequered flag first in Sao Paulo on Sunday, marking his maiden race win in Formula 1. He would likely have achieved that back in 2020, racing for Mercedes as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton in Sakhir, had it not been for a tyre mistake made by the team followed by a puncture.
Perhaps with that heartbreak in mind, team boss Wolff made the decision not to inform Russell when it was discovered that he had a problem with his car in Brazil. Engineers had discovered a leak, but fortunately for the Brit it did not prevent him from winning from pole position.
"We had a water leak on the car throughout the race, and it wasn't clear that we could actually make it to the end," said Wolff. "[We] all agreed we're going to let him drive to the end even without water, on whatever was there to cool it, and just try to finish the race."
It proved to be the correct call as Russell delivered the team's long-awaited first victory of 2022. To make that success even more sweet, Hamilton crossed the line second to cap a dominant performance and result from the Silver Arrows.
Tears of joy were already flowing for Russell before he even clambered out of his car. Even when he did compose himself for long enough to speak to the TV cameras, he admitted he was "speechless" after finally achieving that first race win.
"You know, on the in lap, all of these memories sort of come flooding back in," he said. "Starting off with my mum and dad in go-karting and going through with all the support I've had from the rest of my family, my girlfriend, my trainer and my manager.
"Then obviously with the likes of Glynn who gave me the opportunity to get on the programme with Mercedes and James Vowles and Toto Wolff – the list is endless. I can't thank them enough and am super proud. A huge thank you to the whole team for making this possible.
"It's been an emotional roller coaster this season. The race was really tough race, but I felt in control. Lewis was super fast and then when I saw the safety car come out, I thought: 'this is gonna be a really difficult end and there's so much pressure'."
