Naomi Schiff believes that Toto Wolff will not allow the internal dispute at Mercedes to get out of control in the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Sky Sports analyst stated that George Russell and Kimi Antonelli know that the Austrian team boss reacts quickly when he realizes that a driver starts to put himself above the team.
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Russell started the championship as the favorite within Mercedes, but Antonelli completely changed the scenario after winning the Australian GP and also the China Sprint. The 19-year-old Italian strengthened his position by triumphing in the China, Japan, and Miami GPs, opening a 20-point lead over his teammate in the standings.
During his participation in the Up To Speed podcast, Schiff highlighted that Wolff learned from the conflicts between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2016. “First of all, Toto learned many lessons from the Hamilton-Rosberg era, the one we saw collapse in 2016,” she said.
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The commentator believes that Wolff will be firm if he perceives any excess from the drivers. “He made it clear that the drivers need to remember that they are not bigger than the team. And if someone starts to think that everything revolves around him, Toto will correct that very quickly,” she said. “As nice and charismatic as he may seem, he does not give the impression of being someone you want to challenge.”
Schiff also pointed out different scenarios for Antonelli and Russell within Mercedes. According to her, the young Italian understands that he needs to maintain a good relationship with Wolff because he has a long career ahead. Russell, on the other hand, could face a bigger dilemma, especially due to the possibility of Max Verstappen emerging as a future option for the team. “Maybe George thinks about playing the team game to protect his position. But that selfish side of a driver might also emerge thinking: ‘This might be my only chance to win the championship, so I need to go all out,’” she concluded.
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