Wolff Defends Team Orders as Antonelli Set for Home Grand Prix Grid Penalty
ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff defended the use of team orders in the Formula 1 title fight after George Russell protested when he was asked to give up second place in the Dutch Grand Prix to teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Over team radio, Russell questioned the call to let Antonelli past in the final stages of Sunday's race, suggesting it left him vulnerable to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton behind with little to gain for the team. Antonelli was on fresher tires but eventual winner Lando Norris was far ahead.
Russell, who held off Hamilton to keep third, relented after the race and said his teammate and title rival Antonelli "deserved to finish ahead."
"Team orders are always harsh from one driver's perspective," Wolff said, arguing that not swapping positions would have left both drivers a target for Hamilton. "We're not losing time with each other if there are competitors breathing down our neck. We've seen it with the Ferraris at the beginning of the year in Shanghai, you just lose so much race time, you risk losing more points."
Antonelli had been ahead of Russell earlier in the race before Mercedes brought him in for fresh tires and that was another reason for the switch, Wolff added.
"Today, it wasn't a very difficult call, because Kimi was running second, clear of George, and that's basically the order we restored after the stop. So, a completely normal modus operandi, and we would have done it the other way around also," he said.
Grid Penalty Confirmed for Monza
Antonelli, who turns 20 on Tuesday, faces another obstacle in his quest to become F1's youngest-ever champion.
He will need to take a hefty grid penalty at his home Italian Grand Prix in two weeks' time as Mercedes plans to swap his car's power unit to head off potential reliability problems in the second half of the season. That will put Antonelli over his allowance of key components for the year.
The penalty will be a minimum of 10 positions depending on the exact components Mercedes change – effectively, the more new parts, the greater the grid drop. That means that Antonelli could be demoted to the back row if the team opt for a complete overhaul, no matter what he achieves during Qualifying.
Strategic Decision for Mercedes
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Zandvoort Sprint, in which Antonelli finished fourth, Wolff said: "We need big points. Kimi is going to probably lose some in Monza starting in the back, so hopefully we can pocket some here."
With the event taking place from September 4-6, he will be aiming to score as many points as possible at this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix, with Qualifying set to take place later today at 1600 local time.