Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff explains: This is why the team order was necessary

“Does he stand any chance of winning?” asked George Russell when, during the final laps of the Dutch Grand Prix, he was instructed to let his team-mate and direct World Championship rival, Kimi Antonelli, past. And many a spectator was wondering the same thing.

The championship leader was on fresher tyres than the Briton, but the gap to race leader Lando Norris was too big for the curly-haired driver to harbour any hope of a successful attack. Moreover, the McLaren star’s pace was impressive.

On top of that, Russell was essentially thrown to the wolves by the two Ferrari stars, as they too had been fitted with fresh tyres during a virtual safety car phase. And Hamilton came dangerously close to his former team-mate; only another virtual yellow phase (triggered by the two Williams drivers and their crash) prevented the 28-year-old from losing his podium place.

A glance at the World Championship standings reveals that both Antonelli and Hamilton are direct rivals of Russell. So why was the runner-up in the World Championship asked to make way? Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff explained to colleagues at ‘Sky Sports F1’ immediately after the chequered flag: ‘I don’t think Norris was still within reach. It was simply a matter of creating the safest situation to score points.’

Admittedly, Antonelli could have been instructed to stay within striking distance after the position swap so that Russell could utilise straight-line mode, he conceded. “But that would have been too big a risk, as the two Ferraris were really close behind,” emphasised the Viennese team principal. “There were a few difficult decisions we had to make, but that’s the way it is if you want to fight for the Constructors’ Championship.”

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Not a one-man battle

Wolff made it clear that this is about the interests of all staff members. “That’s how we work; both drivers know that. We avoid the situation that some other teams find themselves in when they don’t address such matters clearly. These are tough times, and there are 2,500 people working to win the World Championship titles. It’s not a one-man battle. And that’s how we’ve been working for 15 years.”

Second and third place were ultimately a case of damage limitation, the team principal also explained. “At first, everything pointed to us having the pace to take the win, but for reasons that are not yet clear, we lost performance.”

Wolff praised Russell, who fought tooth and nail against the two Ferraris hot on his heels and managed to hold on to third place at the finish. He added that the decision to swap positions was not as difficult within the team as it appears from the outside. “We’ve discussed it very often. We won’t waste any time fighting amongst ourselves when two Ferraris are hot on our heels. It’s got nothing to do with who’s leading the World Championship; if the situation had been the other way round, we would have done exactly the same. It was simply a matter of protecting the best possible positions.”