World championship leader Kimi Antonelli says he and Mercedes teammate George Russell will modify their approach to avoid handing points to rival teams. Their aggressive battles in Barcelona allowed Lewis Hamilton to capitalize on Antonelli's late technical failure, reducing the Italian's lead to 41 points after the Ferrari driver claimed victory.

Russell emphasized that team success takes precedence over individual results. He pointed to their hard-fought battle in Canada where they pulled away from competitors, but acknowledged Barcelona showed the danger of racing each other when other drivers are in contention. The seven-time champion Hamilton has scored successive podiums before his breakthrough Ferrari win.

Antonelli expects all top four teams to be closely matched in Austria. Ferrari arrives with a more powerful engine upgrade, while Red Bull brings significant performance improvements and McLaren remains competitive since Miami. The championship leader recognizes the increased threat from multiple directions.

Both Mercedes drivers understand maximizing every opportunity becomes critical with Hamilton and Ferrari emerging as genuine contenders. Antonelli's Barcelona retirement cost valuable points, highlighting how team strategy must evolve when the championship fight involves more than intra-team battles.