Position Swap
Toto Wolff had said in no uncertain terms that he would not hesitate to issue team orders to his drivers if he deemed them necessary to achieve the best possible result for the team. This was the case at Zandvoort, when after a reshuffling caused by the Virtual Safety Car, with six laps to go George Russell was asked to let Andrea Kimi Antonelli pass, even though the two are theoretically still competing against each other for the Drivers’ Championship.
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Antonelli in fact had faster soft tires, while Russell was on old hard compounds and behind them the two Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were rapidly approaching. Wolff and the Mercedes pit wall wanted to avoid Antonelli being ‘bottlenecked’ in that situation and ordered Russell to let him through. The Englishman immediately complied with the request, though expressing some disappointment over the radio. Another Virtual Safety Car, following the position swap between the two silver arrows, helped Russell maintain third place all the way to the checkered flag.
In Harmony and Agreement
Those hoping for some discord between the two Mercedes drivers after the race were disappointed. In the usual post-race interviews with the top three finishers, both Antonelli and Russell complimented each other without showing any bitterness over the team’s decision. An attitude that was surely appreciated by Wolff, who had been emphatic in reiterating that his two drivers must adhere to the team’s instructions. “George was a good team player,” Antonelli said, “and I’m glad he managed to keep third place. Now, as a team, we need to find time to recover, since McLaren has made a huge leap forward”. Also Antonelli, over the radio after the checkered flag, had pointed out: “The strategy was too risky. Too risky for both of us”.
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Russell, for his part, put on a brave face and stayed out of the controversy: “Kimi was still ahead of me and deserved to finish ahead. With new tires, he would have overtaken me anyway”, the Englishman explained. For now, then, everyone at Brackley is in harmony and agreement.
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