Following the Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reiterated that, at the end of the day, only victory matters to the Silver Arrows
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff now appears more than willing to resort to team orders if necessary. Kimi Antonelli’s victory at the Belgian Grand Prix has done nothing to change this shift in stance.
“Today, we made it our mission not to cost each other any time,” Wolff said after the race. The team principal was responding to a question about whether, given the current World Championship situation, it might be time to start thinking about securing the title for Antonelli. Meanwhile, Russell is already 50 championship points behind the leader.
“We don’t want yo-yo racing, just so that Ferrari and Red Bull are breathing down our necks and we lose the victory,” Wolff explained. “That’s what happened in Barcelona. You know, without the retirement, Kimi would have won the race.”
In Barcelona, Antonelli and Russell battled not only against each other but also against Lewis Hamilton for the Grand Prix victory. Due to the internal team battle, both lost a lot of time to Hamilton’s Ferrari, allowing the seven-time world champion to return to the track ahead of the two Mercedes despite making another pit stop.
A few laps before the end, after Antonelli had gotten the better of Russell, the 19-year-old had to pull his Silver Arrow over due to a technical failure.
Back in Montreal, the wheel-to-wheel duels between the two championship rivals had already caused a stir in the Mercedes pit. Although Russell’s technical retirement ultimately decided the Grand Prix here, the two came extremely close to each other on several occasions.
“Since Barcelona,” said the team principal, “we would definitely prioritize winning the race. And if that means Kimi or George is in the lead, then that’s exactly what we’d do.”
Wolff also emphasized once again the importance of the Constructors’ World Championship for the Silver Arrows. However, the team does not want to make a premature decision in the Drivers’ World Championship in favor of Antonelli: “We would never take a victory away from any of our drivers. So if George is in the lead, we wouldn’t do anything to prevent it, even if he’s trailing in the championship.”