Mercedes reveals stance on potential team orders to aid George Russell

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted the team could prioritise George Russell over the remaining races in F1 2026 to boost his chances of finishing second in the drivers’ standings.

The German marque has secured both titles with three rounds to go in the campaign, with Kimi Antonelli’s crowning moment in Mexico preceding the team recapturing the constructors’ championship for the first time since 2021 a week later in Brazil.

Mercedes open to team orders to help George Russell to P2

Russell, though, has slipped behind Max Verstappen to third place amid a five-race run without a podium since his win in Baku, and he is at risk of dropping as low as sixth, given that he is only 16 points clear of Lando Norris, who occupies that position.

With Antonelli being ordered to allow his teammate through in the closing stages at Interlagos as Mercedes chased a podium, Wolff was asked whether that could become a common occurrence across the upcoming events to maximise Russell’s points return.

“I haven’t thought about the drivers’ championship yet,” he replied.

“We absolutely want him to score the maximum and hopefully finish second. And we need to think about what we’re going to do about it.

“But it could be a possibility that we’re giving it all the force.”

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In many respects, Russell’s weekend in Sao Paulo epitomised his season.

He was on track to usurp Lando Norris’ eventual pole position time on his second run in Q3, but having got caught up behind Alex Albon’s Williams, he was told to abandon the lap.

That would prove to be the wrong call, as the rain intensified and the track conditions worsened, leaving Russell to be aggrieved as he had to settle for second in qualifying.

Then, having started seventh owing to a five-place grid penalty for an engine change, the Briton’s comeback endured a setback when he spun exiting the pit lane on slick tyres.

However, Wolff has reiterated that he harbours no doubt that Russell will bounce back.

“It’s George’s championship today,” he expressed. “It’s the constructors’ championship, and he’s part of that team. And I’m really happy that he can cherish this moment because we owe it to him.

“He had it so tough at times, and yesterday was a good example. He was absolutely dominating the wet qualifying. He should have been on pole easily, and then it was a wrong call. The right or the wrong call, I don’t know what it was, but this kind of last lap took away his pole position.

“Now we have three races to go. We’re going to, like I said, go full blast, and he will recover. I have no doubt about that for next year.

“All the very best sports people have gone through difficult periods, and that’s going to be part of his continued development.”

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