Toto Wolff's cryptic team radio to George Russell surfaces after Abu Dhabi GP: "Thank you for sticking with what we wanted to do with setup and parts"

A radio message from Toto Wolff to George Russell recently surfaced on social media, where the Mercedes boss was heard hailing the British driver for his efforts at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP. In the message, Wolff thanked Russell for his help with the parts and setups in the recently concluded race in Abu Dhabi.

As the race at the Yas Marina Circuit was completed with Mercedes having hardly taken anything but lessons out of the season, Wolff took to the team radio to thank Russell for his efforts throughout the year, particularly in the UAE.

Russell began the spree of team radio messages when he praised the team for all their efforts. Here's what he said:

"Thanks for all the efforts this year, it's been a proper roller coaster. A lot of highs, a lot of lows. Thanks for the hard work."

Replying to Russell, his race engineer, Marcus Dudley, stated:

"Yeah, thank you very much. Lot of highs and lot of lows, like you said. We'll come back even stronger next year."

And then came Wolff, who said:

"George, we need to find out why we isn't the car so happy. With that, lots of works to do, lots to analyze, and I'm sure we're gonna get on top. Thank you for sticking with what we wanted to do this weekend with setups and parts."

Notably, George Russell was slower than his departing teammate, Lewis Hamilton, throughout the race weekend, even though it was not the case all season. The 26-year-old was thoroughly faster than his veteran compatriot, but the Abu Dhabi GP saw a drop in performance.

Although it's not sure what Wolff wanted to 'cryptically' convey to Russell with "setups and parts" on the team radio, Hamilton's mega performance on Sunday reflected it. One can argue that the seven-time world champion started his race from P16 with newer parts, and came home in P4.

Whereas, Russell started from P6, and technically made no advancement even though he finished in P5. (Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen collided in Lap 1 to give him a two-place advantage.)

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George Russell touched upon the set-up changes Mercedes tried during the Abu Dhabi GP

After trying out a radical set-up on Friday during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Free Practices, George Russell opened up about the changes and how the car felt during the two-hour sessions. Here's what he said:

"Today we struggled a bit but this is only Friday,” Russell told Sky Sports F1. “We’re trying a lot of things in preparation for next year."

“Obviously this is our last opportunity and we wanted to go, let’s say, a little bit more radical with some of the set-up options, just to see if there’s anything more we can learn."

Formula 1 has concluded for the 2024 season where Verstappen retained his Driver's Championship. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc finished as first and second runners-up, respectively.

George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes - Source: Getty

McLaren clinched their first Constructors' title since 1998, ahead of Ferrari, and former champions Red Bull. Mercedes, however, finished on a lowly P4, compared to their P2, P3, and P1 in the last three years.