Mercedes caught a €5,000 fine after George Russell skipped post-race media duties in Mexico, but team principal Toto Wolff made it clear he'd given Russell permission to leave. Russell's day was a disaster — started second, dropped four places on lap one when the battery failed to deliver, then collected a 10-second penalty for punting Isack Hadjar at Turn 6. He salvaged sixth, but it was the race he should have won. The brutal twist: his teammate Kimi Antonelli clinched the world championship the same afternoon. Wolff called Russell "distraught" and said the team let him down on energy deployment, the same gremlins that have haunted the pre-season title favorite all year. The stewards proceeded in absentia; the team rep dialed in by phone. Wolff's defense was blunt: leaving was understandable, staying would have been the surprise. Russell's title dream died in Mexico while his younger teammate celebrated. The final rounds are now about damage control.
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