Gunther Steiner is firm on the thorny situation involving Kimi Antonelli and George Russell

The die is cast at Mercedes, according to former Haas team principal Gunther Steiner. At the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, the first team order was issued to George Russell, who reluctantly let Andrea Kimi Antonelli pass him, ceding second place. According to Steiner, the pecking order is now set.

“I don’t think they told George to be the number two driver. I think they told him, ‘You’re here now to support Kimi.’ I wouldn’t call him a second driver, but it was a message along the lines of, ‘You have to support Kimi to win the world championship: that’s your mission for this season,’” Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast.

Kimi Antonelli is currently faster, and Russell must prioritize the team’s best interests: “If you want to win, this is what you have to do; otherwise, you run the risk of doing what McLaren did last year and risking losing the world championship. You’ll go into the final race and risk losing the championship. Not winning it, but losing it.”

According to Steiner, there won’t be a repeat of the heated internal rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg from 2016: Toto Wolff has learned from that situation. “Wolff is at a different stage in his career; he’s clearly the leader now. In 2016, it was his third year or so. Now Toto has become someone who, in my opinion, can tell anyone what to do. Back then, telling Lewis Hamilton what to do was a different story.”

The Bologna native, who celebrated his 20th birthday on August 25, arrives at Monza as the World Championship leader with a 59-point lead over Hamilton and Russell, who are now tied for second place in the standings. A historic first: Antonelli is the first Italian driver to lead the championship heading into the Monza race since the days of Alberto Ascari. “I don’t feel the pressure; in fact, I think I’ll be able to enjoy the Monza weekend even more than last year,” said the Mercedes driver, adding that he has “a huge opportunity to have a good race and score more important points.”