Toto Wolff has called internet trolls ‘lunatics’ and ‘hilarious’ for claiming that his Mercedes team are biased against George Russell and instead favour Kimi Antonelli.The Silver Arrows boss was speaking ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, which takes place on Sunday, and disputed all accusations of favouritism in the treatment of his two drivers, saying: ‘I don’t know what is going on. Do they think I have a button which says, “George engine failure now?”’The Austrian’s defence came before a decent sprint qualifying in which Max Verstappen took a fine pole under Singapore’s lights. Russell was second best, Charles Leclerc third – and Antonelli seventh.Russell is 84 points back from his team-mate Antonelli with a possible seven races remaining, depending on whether the final rounds in the Middle East go ahead at the end of November and start of December, given the conflict in the region.Wolff continued: ‘Sometimes when I read what people write, I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team. I have zero understanding and respect for those who come up with these things.‘Rather than watching Formula One, they should do Teletubbies or Mickey Mouse. Toto Wolff has rubbished claims of favouritism within the Mercedes camp ahead of this week’s Singapore Grand Prix‘I have always tried to be the most balanced and transparent with the drivers. I look it as my challenge to keep it that way, always – and it was not easy with Lewis (Hamilton) and Nico (Rosberg) back in the day.‘Integrity and respect are important for me. We have had Kimi since he was 11. He’s an integral part of the team.‘It is very nice to see him grow into a position where he is fighting for the championship at such a young age, with the talent he has.‘George has been with us since he was 17. He is someone I feel a lot of emotion and compassion for. We are very close.‘We spent a lot of time with Carmen (Russell’s fiancée) and Susie (Wolff’s wife) off the track.‘We travel together. We have coffee together. That is why it is annoying to have lunatics with no understanding of how the relationship works coming up with these kinds of accusations. Kimi Antonelli is the runaway favourite for the championship while George Russell is snapping at his heels in second‘Most important is that George and Kimi know how the team is.’As for his pole, Verstappe, who was victorious in Malaysia last weekend, but has never won in Singapore, said: ‘It’s always close here. As for your lap, you’re pushing as hard as you think is possible, close to the walls in places.‘Once we bolted on the soft tyres, it felt like the car was coming alive, but I did not expect this. Of course, I’m happy to be first.‘We have been stronger in the last few races, but this track still highlights a few little weaknesses in the car, but we manage to drive with them as well as possible.’McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start the sprint fourth with his team-mate Lando Norris fifth and Hamilton sixth for Ferrari.