Mercedes will not introduce team orders favouring Andrea Kimi Antonelli despite the Italian driver opening a 59-point championship advantage over George Russell. Bradley Lord, the team’s deputy principal, has confirmed that Mercedes will continue to prioritise race victories and the Constructors’ Championship rather than support one driver’s individual title bid.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli extended his lead over George Russell by recovering to third place in the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix. George Russell, meanwhile, fell to last place following a problem at the start and could only recover to seventh, allowing the gap between the Mercedes drivers to grow significantly before the summer break.
Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 59 points
Lewis Hamilton sits between the two Mercedes drivers in the Formula 1 driver standings, with the Ferrari driver 50 points behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli. George Russell is a further nine points adrift, leaving him 59 behind his team-mate.
Despite Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s advantage, Mercedes has decided to maintain its non-intervention policy for now rather than use team orders to support the Italian driver’s championship challenge. The decision comes as the competitive dynamic between the team-mates has raised questions about whether George Russell could find himself pushed into a supporting role.
Mercedes may also be mindful of the complications McLaren occasionally created for itself last season, when both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were fighting for the championship against an external rival in Max Verstappen. For the moment, however, the Brackley-based team remains committed to allowing both of its drivers to compete.
Mercedes team orders will only serve race victories
Speaking to journalists in Budapest after the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Bradley Lord reiterated that Mercedes’ immediate priorities remain its collective objectives: winning Grands Prix and securing the Constructors’ Championship.
“The principle is simple: if a Mercedes can win the race, a Mercedes must win it, and that is what comes before anything else. The team comes first, and the Constructors’ Championship is the team’s primary objective,” Bradley Lord said.
It is essentially the same position that team principal Toto Wolff expressed following the Belgian Grand Prix. Any instructions issued to Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will therefore only be intended to help Mercedes win a race and prevent its drivers from slowing each other down to the benefit of a rival.
Such a situation occurred at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, where the Mercedes drivers’ battle ultimately played into Lewis Hamilton’s hands. Mercedes nevertheless believes it remains too early to establish a hierarchy, even as discussions continue over how the team would manage an internal title rivalry.
Bradley Lord sets out Mercedes’ championship priority
“We are halfway through the season and it is too early to think about these things. We are not focusing on hypothetical scenarios,” Bradley Lord explained.
“We want to win both championships, absolutely, and we will give ourselves the best possible chance of doing so by getting two cars to the finish as often as possible and in the highest possible positions, something we have not managed to do in any race so far this year.”
Mercedes will therefore continue giving Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell equal opportunities unless intervening becomes necessary to protect a race victory. The Constructors’ Championship remains the team’s central priority, even though Andrea Kimi Antonelli has established a clear points advantage in the drivers’ contest.
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