Toto Wolff said Mercedes will review the policy that let George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli race each other after Barcelona, where Hamilton beat both to claim victory. The team opened the 2026 season with six straight wins, but Ferrari’s upgrade and Hamilton’s surge ended the streak. Antonelli still leads the championship despite the setback through consistent performance this year.

Mercedes lost roughly five seconds as Russell and Antonelli battling, a loss Wolff quantified as “five or six seconds”. He warned that intra‑team fighting aids rivals like Lando Norris and may force the team to let the faster driver through. Lewis Hamilton now sits 41 points ahead of Antonelli and nine ahead of Russell, bolstered by Ferrari’s revived pace in 2026.

Wolff admitted the team will hold internal talks on whether to intervene when a clear pace differential emerges, echoing former champion Nico Rosberg’s view that Mercedes should have ordered Russell aside in Barcelona. Rosberg recalled letting Hamilton pass in 2016 to protect the win. The Silver Arrows now face a choice between pure competition and preserving potential victories for 2026.