Kimi Antonelli and George Russell: Toto Wolff hints at changes

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s five-race winning streak came to an end in Barcelona after the Bologna-based driver retired due to a technical failure in his Mercedes. The World Championship leader, however, put in an excellent performance, battling with his teammate George Russell and overtaking him in the closing stages before coming to a stop.

It is precisely the duel between Antonelli and Russell that is giving Mercedes boss Toto Wolff pause for thought, especially in light of Lewis Hamilton’s victory and Ferrari’s dramatic improvement following the latest updates. In post-race interviews, the Austrian team principal spoke plainly: “Today we tried to race fairly as a team. But perhaps that cost us the victory.”

Wolff hints at possible future team orders: “This is something we need to discuss with the drivers. How can we do that if we’re battling someone else for the race win? They were battling quite fiercely before George’s pit stop. I think we lost about four, five, or six seconds to Lewis. And then, of course, with the Virtual Safety Car, everything changed.”

“George and Kimi are giving it their all on the track, but we need to talk to them about this for the future.” Wolff is also concerned about the car’s reliability issues: “We can’t compete for the championship if in one out of every two races we have a car that loses points. To finish first, first of all you have to make it to the finish line.”