The director of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, Toto Wolff, has indicated that his team may have to apply team orders if drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell risk losing a victory due to battles between themselves. This decision follows Antonelli’s seventh victory of the 2026 season at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Wolff had already expressed his discontent over the loss of two opportunities against Ferrari in previous races. In particular, he was concerned about what happened in Barcelona, where Russell and Antonelli were battling for six laps, allowing Lewis Hamilton to overtake them on fresh tires.
In his post-race press conference, a journalist asked Wolff if it was time to designate Antonelli as the lead driver and ask Russell to withdraw if he was behind. Although Wolff dismissed this idea immediately, he stressed the need to avoid repeating situations like that in Barcelona.
“We don’t want to lose time one against the other,” Wolff stated. “We can’t allow a Ferrari or a Red Bull to be close and lose a victory, as happened in Barcelona. Without the DNF, Kimi would have won that race.”
After the incident in Barcelona, Wolff made it clear that the team would prioritize the race victory. “We will never take a victory away from one of our drivers. If George is ahead, we won’t do it, even if he is behind in the championship at this point in the season,” he clarified.
Russell, who had previously shown confidence in both drivers’ ability to fight without collisions, has changed his mindset after the incident in Barcelona. “The team’s victory is the priority,” he concluded.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
