(Motorsport-Total.com) – If Mercedes were to cost each other valuable time on the track like in Barcelona, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell expect a clear team order in Austria.
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“If we find ourselves in a situation like in Barcelona again and come under pressure from the competition, then there will be a team order,” Antonelli explained on Thursday. “Especially when one car is faster than the other.”
After the Grand Prix of Barcelona-Catalonia, there had been a meeting at Mercedes on this topic. Nevertheless, Antonelli emphasizes: “If we fight against each other without the pressure of another team, then we can race each other, just like in Montreal.”
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Russell and Antonelli battled each other for laps, with the more experienced Mercedes driver having to retire early due to a broken battery.
“Of course, the win is the most important thing for the team,” Russell explained in Austria. “Which driver wins doesn’t matter. You saw that in Canada when Kimi and I fought hard but were still able to pull away from the rest of the field.”
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Therefore, Russell emphasizes: “The win was not in danger for the team. But in Barcelona, suddenly there was another driver fighting for the win.”
He means Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, who secured his 106th Grand Prix win in Barcelona. Although Russell mentions that the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time was able to benefit from a VSC phase, the result on the topic of team orders remains the same:
“Kimi and I lost time together, and that would have given Ferrari the chance to win,” is his assessment. “And that is the moment when we as teammates have to act smart.”
Russell once again emphasizes that it does not matter to Mercedes which of the two drivers ends up on top of the podium. So far, the Silver Arrows have won six of seven Grand Prix races in the 2026 season and are in first place in the constructors’ championship.
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