Toto Wolff (Mercedes) on team orders: “We mustn’t waste time amongst ourselves”

After ten race weekends, Mercedes leads the Constructors’ Championship with a 73-point lead over Ferrari. A solid position, but by no means secure given the many race weekends still to come. In the Drivers’ Championship, an old acquaintance has even slipped in between the two Mercedes drivers: former Silver Arrow driver Lewis Hamilton (now at Ferrari) is second behind Kimi Antonelli and ahead of George Russell. Hamilton is five points ahead of Russell. Antonelli is well ahead of both (50 and 45 points respectively).

George Russell retired at Spa due to a battery problem and a subsequent collision with Lewis Hamilton, so he never even had the chance to reclaim second place in the World Championship and close the gap on his team-mate. Consequently, the gap is wide; Russell has been struggling recently, and things seem to be going against the Brit. Will Mercedes now give Antonelli the nod in future to secure both championship leads against the dominant Ferraris?

Toto Wolff: Lessons from Barcelona

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said after the race at Spa: “Following the experiences we’ve had – namely in Barcelona, where we lost so much time – we’ve set ourselves the goal of not losing time to one another. We don’t want any ‘yo-yo racing’, where a Ferrari or a Red Bull is breathing down our necks and we lose the win, as happened in Barcelona.” ‘Yo-yo racing’, a term inspired by the children’s toy, describes the constant back-and-forth – or, figuratively speaking, the ups and downs – in duels on the track, which arises from the energy management rules under the current regulations when the cars charge and release energy, causing the drivers to overtake or fall back accordingly. This takes its toll on tyres and time, and in the worst-case scenario can also go spectacularly wrong, potentially leading to an in-team collision. Naturally, the teams want to avoid this between their team-mates.

Wolff said of Barcelona: “Without the retirement, Kimi would have won the race.” In the end, however, it was Lewis Hamilton who won, after Antonelli retired with damage to his power unit.

Winning the race takes priority

Wolff on team orders: “Since Barcelona, we would definitely always prioritise winning the race. And if that meant Kimi or George were in the lead, that’s exactly what we’d do. It’s just as much a Constructors’ Championship as it is a Drivers’ Championship. We would never take a win away from either driver. So if George is in the lead, we wouldn’t do that, even if he’s trailing in the championship at this stage of the season.”

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