Kimi Antonelli ahead of George Russell: Mercedes on the sensitive topic of team orders

With his victory in the Barcelona Grand Prix, Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton has moved into second place behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, 19-year-old Kimi leads on 156 points, with Hamilton on 115 and the second Mercedes driver, George Russell, on 106.

Naturally, there is heated debate amongst fans and experts as to whether Mercedes should now be backing Antonelli wholeheartedly to fend off a resurgent Hamilton.

On the Mercedes podcast ‘Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show’, Mercedes’ technical director James Allison comments on the sensitive issue of team orders. The 58-year-old Englishman says: “People have a very strong emotional connection to the drivers they support, and naturally they want their favourite to come out on top. But all I can say on the matter is – if you ever want to understand the importance of favouritism in our mindset, then you should come and work in a team.”

James Allison

Foto: XPB

“Because if you were lucky enough to work in a team, you’d immediately be steeped in its culture and would understand how completely alien such a notion is to everyone who belongs to it. When we hear certain rumours, it sometimes feels to us as though we’re hearing a different language.”

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“It’s in all our interests that both our drivers are successful. In fact, we couldn’t care less which of the two is better. We want a one-two finish in every race, and the order is of no concern to us.”

“The only time we would develop a preference is if one driver is mathematically out of the title race and the other is up against a rival from another team. In such a situation, the team has the right to impose team orders.”

“But until that happens, we just want both our lads to be right up there at the front in every single race. Because our main championship isn’t the Drivers’ Championship, but the Constructors’ Championship. If we’re lucky enough to win a bonus, it’s based on our position in the Constructors’ standings, not the Drivers’ standings. We get nothing for the latter. So everything we’re interested in is focused on the Constructors’ Championship, and from that perspective it makes absolutely no sense for us to issue team orders. We simply always want the maximum number of points from both drivers.”