Toto Wolff explained Mercedes’ decision to swap the positions of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell at the Dutch Grand Prix in Formula 1. Despite Russell’s apparent resistance over the radio, the team principal stated that the choice was considered simple by Mercedes.
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Antonelli had taken the lead after the restart caused by Max Verstappen’s accident on the first lap of the race, but lost the lead to Lando Norris on lap 54. In the final moments, Russell was between Norris and Antonelli, using older tires, while the Ferrari drivers were closing in.
Russell questioned the strategy after receiving the instruction to swap positions: “Is he (Antonelli) fighting for the win? Is he planning to catch Norris?”, the Brit asked over the radio. Mercedes maintained the decision and finished the GP with both drivers on the podium.
Wolff denied that the situation created a problem between Russell and the team: “No, I don’t think there will be anything between us. Obviously, team orders are always tough. From a driver’s perspective, you can’t expect an order in the car and just accept it without questioning at the same time, but it’s something they always discuss,” he said.
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The executive explained that the possibility had already been established during the strategic meeting held on Sunday morning. According to Wolff, Mercedes sought to avoid their own drivers losing time in a battle while competitors were closing in, especially considering the impact on the championship points.
“We are not wasting time on each other. There are competitors breathing down our neck. We saw this with the Ferrari cars earlier in the year, in Shanghai. We lost a lot of race time and are losing more points. That’s why we are trying to act proactively and avoid losing points,” he added.
For Wolff, the decision made in Zandvoort did not require much discussion, since Antonelli was in second, ahead of Russell, and the order reflected the situation after the stop: “Today it was not a very difficult decision, because Kimi was second, clearly ahead of George, and that is basically the order in which we score after the pit stop. We would have done the opposite in the same way,” concluded the Mercedes chief.
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