George Russell responds to cost cap fear after another Mercedes crash

George Russell has reacted to fears about Mercedes’ cost cap after a series of crashes.

Russell lost control of his W15 in practice for the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix, days after crashing in Texas too.

Lewis Hamilton also span out of last weekend’s race in America.

“We’ve had a few big, big shunts over the past few races,” Mercedes boss Wolff told Sky Sports in Mexico.

“The chassis was damaged. We can repair it but it won’t run here.

“The mood is up and down.”

He added: “Two big shunts, the chassis needs to be repaired for Brazil.

“It’s rough…”

Russell has little option but to run an older spec of the floor on his W15 after damaging the upgraded version.

But he insisted that the damage caused to Mercedes’ parts won’t force them outside of the $135m budget cap.

“No, no concerns budget-cap because we've always got a bit of margin and you're always weighing up what you put into this season versus what you put into next season,” he said.

“Now, potentially, we may have to compromise the rest of this season, which, to be honest, I'd probably be in favour for because we're not fighting for a championship.

“I'd be more than happy staying on the old floor if that gives us a better chance into next year.

“But, you know, I think we'll be able to repair the floor from Austin. I think that's the plan.

“It wasn't as bad as we initially expected, and that should be out in Brazil.”

Russell will start the Mexico City Grand Prix from fifth on the grid, Hamilton is sixth.

Wolff said about their W15’s issues: “The car has a very narrow band of where it functions well.

“When it was cold on a high-speed track, we were the quickest. Cold is good for us.

“When you hit it right, we can be quick on a single lap.

“The overheating of the tyres makes everything exponentially worse.”