To use team orders or not: it’s the problem McLaren struggled with in 2025 when the internal title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri erupted. A season later, Mercedes is at risk of being in the same boat, even though the Formula 1 year is still young. Team principal Toto Wolff confirms that for now, he wants to let both his drivers, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, race: ‘Towards the end of the season, we will see if something needs to happen’.
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Nine World Championship points. That is currently the difference between championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli and his teammate George Russell. The two Mercedes drivers are the only two who have won a Grand Prix this year, leading to the current expectation that one of the two drivers might just take the world title this year.
Mercedes would then find itself in the same position as McLaren, when Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both still fighting for the title in 2025. However, the British team faced criticism at the time for the team orders it gave to Piastri, including during the Italian Grand Prix, to keep the playing field level between its two drivers.
‘Currently, drivers have a free hand’
Although the season is only just underway with only three Grands Prix completed, Toto Wolff does not rule out that Mercedes could eventually switch to team orders. “We have only had three races. The car is good, so we must continue like this and give the drivers the right tools to keep winning and scoring precious points,” the Austrian team principal told the media.
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“Towards the end of the season, we will see what the points distribution looks like and if something needs to happen,” Wolff hinted at possible team orders. “But at the moment, both cars have a free hand. As long as there is always a margin between the cars, it will be fine.”
Irvine warns
Former Formula 1 driver Eddie Irvine is already warning Wolff against using team orders, even later in the season. “There is too much at stake and the drivers are performing about equally well,” the four-time Grand Prix winner observes. “That is why Toto Wolff cannot intervene with team orders. He has experienced very tense situations when Lewis Hamilton took on Nico Rosberg and later Max Verstappen. On the latter occasion, a serious accident occurred at Silverstone.”
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