– Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is now more than ready to resort to team orders if necessary. Kimi Antonelli’s victory at the Belgian Grand Prix has not changed this turnaround.
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“Today we set out the mission that we would not cost each other time,” said Wolff after the race. The team boss was answering the question of whether, given the current championship situation, it wasn’t time to think about securing the title for Antonelli. Russell is now also 50 championship points behind the leader.
“We don’t want yo-yo racing, just so Ferrari and Red Bull are breathing down our necks and we lose the win,” explains Wolff. “That’s what happened in Barcelona. You know, without the retirement, Kimi would have won the race.”
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In Barcelona, Antonelli and Russell fought not only against each other, but also against Lewis Hamilton for the Grand Prix victory. Due to the internal team duel, 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 another pit stop.
A few laps before the end, after Antonelli had prevailed against Russell, the 19-year-old had to park his Silver Arrow due to a technical defect.
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Already in Montreal, the wheel-to-wheel duels between the two championship rivals in the Mercedes garage had caused a stir. Although Russell’s technical retirement ultimately decided the Grand Prix here, both came extremely close to each other several times.
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“Since Barcelona,” said the team boss, “we would prioritize the race win in any case. And if that means Kimi or George is ahead, then that’s exactly what we would do.”
Wolff also emphasizes once again the relevance of the Constructors’ World Championship for the Silver Arrows. However, they do not want to make a preliminary decision in the Drivers’ World Championship in favor of Antonelli: “We would never take a win away from any of our drivers. So if George is ahead, we wouldn’t do anything about it, even if he’s behind in the championship.”
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