Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will not shy away from imposing team orders if Ferrari and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton emerge as a genuine threat for the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
Following a strong comeback performance by Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, where Hamilton secured his maiden win with the Maranello outfit, Steiner feels the dynamic at the front of the grid could shift.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, the Italian-American shared his thoughts on the intra-team battle at Mercedes. In the first seven rounds of the 2026 season, the Brackley outfit has allowed its drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, to race.
“Kimi won five races; George won one. That says it all,” Steiner said. “Therefore, I think Kimi is still, as you call it, in the driver’s seat. But I think Mercedes lets them race freely if the performance of Ferrari was a one-off in Barcelona.
“I think if the performance of Ferrari continues, Toto will come down to give team orders, and I think he already pointed to that if Ferrari comes near because Toto will not lose a championship because he didn’t give team orders.
“He wants to win, I mean he hasn’t won now for a while, he’s ready to win another championship. For Toto, winning means Mercedes winning, aka Toto winning. Who is winning for him? I don’t think he really cares.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
When asked when Wolff could pull the trigger on backing one driver, the former Haas team boss added: “I think as soon as Toto feels that Ferrari is going to be a real contender, like they were in Barcelona, he will do it. He will not wait around. They will watch the next race, see how it goes there. And I think they are already planning, for sure they held meetings. ‘How are we going to deal with the situation if Ferrari comes close?'”
After back-to-back wins in China and Japan, Antonelli became the youngest driver to lead the championship. He continued his winning streak with three further consecutive wins in Miami, Canada and Monaco. The 19-year-old now leads the championship by 41 points over Ferrari’s Hamilton.
Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell follows in third, nine points behind the seven-time champion.
The eighth round of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix, will take place from 26-28 June at the Red Bull Ring.
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